


The Smirky Meerkat, The Closeted Warthog, and the Brave Little Lion

by ducttapeofdoom



Category: Glee
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Warblers are crazy, s2 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-15
Updated: 2012-08-15
Packaged: 2017-11-12 05:42:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/487349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ducttapeofdoom/pseuds/ducttapeofdoom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After unexpectedly returning from France, Sebastian Smythe views his cousin Kurt Hummel's life and decides to fix what he sees has gone wrong: Kurt's childhood friendship with Dave Karofsky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the Kurtofsky bang on lj. I've also included Youtube links for songs. It's recommended that you listen to them either before reading or alongside the sections.

“I’d say ‘bye’, but I don’t want to offend you,” Blaine snapped as he stalked out of the Lima Bean. He was so upset that he didn’t notice the frank appreciation on the face of the customer that was entering as he was exiting.  
  
The brunet that had entered the coffee shop headed for the counter first. Once he ordered his coffee, he turned so that he could see the entire shop. His lips quirked into a smirk as he saw a styled head of hair attached to a boy in a prep school uniform identical to that of the curly haired teen that had left moments before.  
  
Once he got his coffee, he slowly walked up behind the preoccupied teen until he was directly behind him. “Hey Gay-face.”  
  
Though Kurt couldn’t see the teen behind him, he recognized him immediately by voice and the unusual greeting. A smile broke out on his face. However, it couldn’t be heard in his voice as he spoke. “Hello Timon,” he said coldly.  
  
The taller teen chuckled, not at all offended at being compared to a cartoon meerkat. He walked around to the other chair and sat down. Once settled, he didn’t speak. He just calmly sipped his coffee, knowing the silence would eventually drive Kurt crazy.  
  
“What are you doing here?” Kurt eventually blurted, cursing the fact that the other knew him so well. “I thought you would be hopping from bed to bed in the French countryside until the summer.”  
  
The smirk on the other’s face froze. “Got tired of it,” he said casually, in a tone that spoke volumes to Kurt.  
  
“More like Pierre got tired of it and shipped you back to your dad,” he stated. “Leave it to Aunt Allison to marry the most homophobic Frenchman ever.” Kurt couldn’t understand Allison sometimes. She doesn’t do a thing about how her husband treats her son, but he knew that if Pierre said anything about her sister’s child, the French ass would be on the street by nightfall. Kurt mentally shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to marvel at his aunt’s hypocrisy. He reached across the table and gripped his cousin’s head. “I’m sorry Sebastian.”  
  
Sebastian replied with a cocky grin that Kurt could immediately see through. He didn’t know why Sebastian continued to try and hide things from him, since Kurt knew him so well. “Bas,” Kurt said in a warning tone. Sebastian just threw out an even cockier smirk paired with an outrageous wink, causing Kurt to roll his eyes.  
  
“So, how did you know to find me here?” Kurt asked, choosing to ignore his cousin’s avoidance.  
  
“I called the shop and Uncle Burt said that you come here after school with a friend. And since I didn’t want to be around while Dad explained to his girlfriend that I would be around, especially since I’m pretty sure the gold digger is only a couple years older than us, I went looking for you.”  
  
Kurt remembered his Uncle Thomas attending his birthday party the year before with a girl that had looked barely legal, so Kurt didn’t doubt the age of the girlfriend. He finished his coffee and looked at his cousin. However, before he could speak, Sebastian beat him to it.  
  
“So, where’s Pumbaa? With the way the two of you were as kids, you should still be joined at the hip.”  
  
“You know, he never liked being called a flatulent warthog,” Kurt said quietly.  
  
Sebastian snorted. “And I enjoy being compared to a meerkat? Besides, the name had nothing to do with the fact that he was a chubby kid and you know it. You were Simba, the high voiced little prince and we were your sidekicks. Thus, Timon and Pumbaa.”  
  
“And your giant crush on Nathan Lane played no part, right?” Kurt teased.  
  
“I do not have a crush on Nathan Lane,” Sebastian protested.  
  
“Uh huh,” Kurt deadpanned. “The fact that you own every one of his movies, cast albums, cds, and begged Uncle Thomas for season tickets to _The Producers_ means nothing? And don’t think I don’t know about the tickets for _The Addams Family_ either.” He snickered evilly at the deep red blush on Sebastian’s face. “You’re blushing,” he said gleefully.  
  
Sebastian glared at Kurt. “Stop deflecting. Where is he?”  
  
Kurt sighed and reached over for Sebastian’s coffee and drained it. “Dave and I are no longer friends.”  
  
Sebastian’s jaw dropped. He raised a finger to let Kurt know to wait a moment. He grabbed Kurt’s cup to check out what his coffee order was before making his way to the counter. He had a feeling that more coffee would be needed for this conversation. Once the coffee was ready, he made his way back to the table. “What the hell happened? I was sure I was going to come back from France next year to find the two of you engaged or something. I mean, this was the kid that played house with us when the rest of the boys were running around like idiots on the playground.”  
  
Kurt smiled slightly as he remembered the little boy that would play prince to Kurt’s princess and Sebastian’s knight/dragon depending on the game. “He always did like playing Power Rangers with us, even if all I wanted to do was plan weddings for them.”  
  
Sebastian snorted. “He was always fond of pairing up Tommy with Billy but I remember you preferring Tommy and Jason. I never understood why you preferred the original cast, especially since by the time we were old enough to watch the show it was another cast.”  
  
Kurt shrugged. “Blame Dad for picking up the first movie out of a bargain bin when I was three. And then, after I enjoyed it so much, grabbing all the tapes he could find including the “Green with Evil” series.” He didn’t mention the fact that he suspected that his Dad had so eagerly grabbed the tapes because it seemed like some kind of ‘straight’ show for Kurt to watch to offset the princess movies.  
  
Sebastian remembered the Halloween where the three of them had gone as Power Rangers to the school party in sixth grade. Sebastian suspected that Uncle Burt and Aunt Elizabeth had arranged with their other friends to have a full 6 man team for that party. Kurt had been the pink ranger, Sebastian the red, Dave had been the green. When they had gotten to school that day, Artie Abrams had been the blue ranger, Tina Cohen-Chang had been the yellow, and Azimio Addams had been the black. The yellow and black rangers had been an homage to the original cast with the yellow ranger being played by a Chinese girl and the black ranger played by a black guy. The parents had conspired together to have the teacher take a picture of the kids. Sebastian still had it in his stuff that was being shipped back to his father’s house.  
  
“You’re deflecting again,” Sebastian stated.  
  
Kurt sighed. “Middle school happened. He joined football and the intramural hockey teams and the guys started pressuring him not to spend time with me. Eventually, he gave in.” He stared out the window and frowned. “It was fine until high school. It…hurt seeing him ignore me when he was such a big part in my life. But I could deal with it.”  
  
“But?”  
  
“But when we got to high school, the bullying started. I was tossed in the dumpster by the football team every day. I was locked in port-a-potties. Pee balloons were thrown at me and my lawn furniture was nailed to the roof.” He took a bracing gulp of coffee. “The bullying got worse this year. I was shoved into lockers every day except when Dad was in the hospital.”  
  
“I’m sorry for not coming back then; Mom and I couldn’t get tickets in time to come back.”  
  
“It’s okay Sebastian. Uncle Thomas kicked his flavor of the month out and made sure that I was taken care of.” That was something that none of his friends knew about that week. Carole had insisted that he stay at the Hudson’s house while Burt was in the hospital, but Kurt had insisted on staying at the hospital until Thomas had literally thrown Kurt over his shoulder to make sure Kurt ate and got some rest.  
  
“So what was different about this year? It sounds like those kids at your school are real assholes. Do you need me to kick their asses?”  
  
Kurt couldn’t help but laugh. “No Sebastian, that wouldn’t help anything. But the reason the bullying was worse this year was because Dave was my main tormentor. He kept shoving me into lockers.”  
  
“That bitch,” Sebastian swore, his hand tightening on his cup. “Are you sure you don’t want me to kick his ass? I could you know.”  
  
Kurt laughed again. “You should probably wait to see what he looks like now before offering that Bas.”  
  
Sebastian just scoffed and waved it off. It’s not like he was a weakling, he played lacrosse and that was a full contact sport as much as football or hockey. Then he thought about it. Kurt, while not a full contact sport player, was strong from all the dancing and conditioning he went through to ensure that he was in shape. And he was apparently tossed around like a balloon while at McKinley. He also sensed that there was something about that time that Kurt didn’t want to discuss, so he decided to ignore it for the time being. “So, Dalton huh? I thought that you and Uncle Burt decided two years ago that you weren’t going to go there? Something about it being for stuck up trust fund babies and not for the son of a mechanic.”  
  
Kurt snickered. “Well, I’m only one of those things,” he joked.  
  
“Does that mean I get your trust fund?” Sebastian teased right back.  
  
“Back off bitch. Mom left that to me and I’ll give up my clothes before I let you get to my trust fund,” Kurt snapped playfully.  
  
“Can I have that in writing? Kurt Hummel has offered to give up his clothes,” Sebastian said loudly, looking around at the other customers.  
  
“Bite me,” Kurt snapped. “Are you going back to Uncle Thomas’ place right away?”  
  
Sebastian shrugged. “Dad said that he would text me when he was done,” he pulled out his cell phone to show that there hadn’t been any texts.  
  
Kurt stood up. “Then come on. Carole is making dinner and I know she won’t mind making extra, especially with the way Finn eats. And you can finally meet them.”  
  
Sebastian smiled. “The infamous Finn and Carole Hudson? I can’t wait.” The two threw away their cups and made for the door. “By the way, who was that delicious piece of man candy that was leaving as I got here? Please tell me he’s gay and available. Or not available. I’m not picky.”  
  
“Oh I know you’re not picky,” Kurt snarked. He sighed and took his cousin’s arm. “That’s Blaine Anderson. He’s the first guy friend I’ve had since Dave who hasn’t been uncomfortable at times about my sexuality. He’s gay as well and single. And if you go after him and break his heart, I will let Santana cut your balls off and wear them as jewelry.”  
  
Sebastian laughed loudly. He eyed the massive Navigator as Kurt walked around to the driver’s side. “If I didn’t shower with you in middle school, I would think that you were compensating for something with the car. I’m sure Uncle Burt had something to say about the car as well.”  
  
Kurt pushed the button to unlock the doors. “You know Dad, safety for him, overstated grandeur for me. And the windshield looks even better now once it was replaced after Mercedes threw a brick through it.”  
  
“Wait, what?” Sebastian stared blankly.  
  
Kurt laughed. “Come on Bas, I’ll tell you the story on the way.”  
  
XxXxX  
  
Kurt threw open the door and stalked inside. “Carole! Dad? I’m home. And I brought a guest so please be on your best behavior Finn!”  
  
“I’m a guest now Kurtis?” Sebastian asked, putting his coat on the rack.  
  
“You call me that again Sebastian Smythe, I _will_ call Santana in. She’s been itching to kick your ass since you called her fat in the fourth grade.”  
  
“Like she remembers that,” Sebastian protested, stealing Kurt’s scarf and tossing it on the rack on top of his own coat.  
  
“Be careful with that you animal! And you obviously don’t know anything about girls if you think that she doesn’t remember you calling her fat.”  
  
“I’m gay, why the hell would I want to know anything about girls?”  
  
Kurt only replied by rolling his eyes.  
  
“Kurt?” a woman’s voice came from the kitchen.  
  
Kurt walked over to the woman and hugged her tightly. “Carole this is my cousin Sebastian. He just moved back from France and I thought he could have dinner with us before he had to go back to his dad’s tonight.” He turned back to the lanky teen. “Sebastian, this is my step-mother Carole Hudson-Hummel. I saw his car, so her son Finn should be around here somewhere.”  
  
As if he heard his name, a thundering sounded from the stairs as someone raced down them. “Did I hear Kurt?”  
  
“What are you? An elephant?” Kurt screeched at his step-brother. Kurt reflexively fixed his hair, a habit that he thought that he had gotten rid of after sophomore year.  
  
“Who’s he?” Finn asked, stopping short when he spotted Sebastian. He eyed the slightly shorter teen distrustfully, looking between Kurt and the stranger, wondering if there was something going on there.  
  
Sebastian could almost see the wheels turning in the giant teen’s head and could practically smell the suspicion emanating from him. He put an arm around Kurt’s waist and pulled him close, just to fuck with the other teen. He chuckled quietly when he saw the guy’s eyes bug out of his head at the sight.  
  
“Bas! God, why do you have to be such a dick?” Kurt snapped.  
  
“Just part of my personality darling,” Sebastian purred, causing Kurt to roll his eyes.  
  
“Sit your ass down and stop trying to traumatize my brother Bas. I’ll deal with you later. And Finn, this is my _cousin_ Sebastian Smythe. He’s also an asshole and is just trying to jerk your chain.”  
  
Finn grinned and tried not to sigh in relief. He was doing his best to not be freaked out about Kurt’s sexuality, but it was still a work in process. He walked over to the couch, where Sebastian had obediently moved to after being ordered, and held out his hand. “Finn Hudson. What side of the family are you from?”  
  
Sebastian shook Finn’s hand. “Kurt’s mom’s side. Our mothers are sisters.”  
  
Carole wanted to scold Kurt for his profanity, but it was interesting for her to see him act like a typical teenage boy for once. “Your dad should be home soon,” she told the boys. “Would you like a drink Sebastian?” she asked politely.  
  
“I can get it Carole,” Sebastian said, acting like the well-bred young man he supposedly was. He stood, looking around as he noticed for the first time that they were at another house than the one he was used to. “You moved,” he said blankly.  
  
“Took you a while to notice,” Kurt said softly. “The kitchen is through that way.”  
  
Sebastian nodded and walked through the doorway, needing to take a moment to regroup. He had forgotten that the house he spent so much of his childhood in was sold and they had moved to a new house. It had just hit him at that moment that his aunt’s home was gone, the one that he had sung in with her, Kurt, and Dave during their Cub Scout meetings of three as children.  
  
“Sebastian, are you okay?” Carole asked, resting her hand on the teen’s shoulder.  
  
“Yeah. It just hit me at that moment that this isn’t my Aunt Elizabeth’s house. That I wasn’t going to move Uncle Burt’s chair and find the crayon drawing on the wall that Kurt and I did to piss off the babysitter when Aunt Elizabeth was in the hospital.”  
  
“Oh hon.” Carole wrapped her arms around the upset teen and just hugged him for a moment.  
  
Sebastian allowed himself to draw comfort from the embrace of a mother, even if she wasn’t his own. He also wasn’t crying but allowed himself to let out a small bit of the grief that was always lingering since the death of the woman who was more of a mother to him than his own had been.  
  
In the background, there was the sound of Kurt and Finn fighting about whether or not Finn could enter the kitchen. Finn was protesting about being hungry and wanting to grab something to eat. Kurt was all but hissing threats at Finn to keep him out until Sebastian could pull himself together. Sebastian was tempted to laugh until another set of arms wrapped themselves around him and the scent of motor oil enveloped him. Despite managing to keep himself together before, Sebastian felt a sob sneak out. “Uncle Burt,” he sobbed, turning around in Carole’s arms to hug his uncle tightly.  
  
Carole led the boys away from the kitchen to allow Burt a chance to comfort his nephew. Ten minutes later, the two reentered the living room, Sebastian wiping at his red eyes.  
  
“You feeling better Bas?”  
  
Sebastian nodded, but the look on his face screamed that he didn’t feel like talking about it. Kurt stood and grabbed the remote. “Why don’t you boys stay out here and watch something manly and sports-like, while Carole and I make dinner?” He tossed the remote to his brother and retreated to the kitchen before the wrestling for the remote began.  
  
Kurt chatted idly with Carole as they made dinner. Every now and again he could hear shouts from the living room, but he didn’t bother paying attention to what they were saying. It was sports talk, nothing that Kurt would be interested in.  
  
As he chopped, he whistled a familiar tune. _Hakuna Matata. What a wonderful phrase…_  
  
XxXxX


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Kurt was grumpy as he pulled in the driveway of his uncle’s house. He had gotten a call from Thomas the night before asking him if Kurt could drive Sebastian to Dalton so he could take a tour of the campus. As a result, Sebastian had stayed the night at the Hummel-Hudson home, but had still needed to go by Thomas’ house so Sebastian could change into clean clothes, causing Kurt and Sebastian to get on the road much earlier than either of them would have liked. Especially since jet lag was beginning to set in for Sebastian.  
  
Kurt jabbed Sebastian in the side when it seemed like his cousin would just continue sleeping against the window. “If you drool on my window, I’m making you get my baby detailed,” he threatened. When that failed to elicit a response, he tried another tactic. “If you hurry, we can get coffee before class.”  
  
Sebastian was out the door before he could finish the sentence, leaving a darkly chuckling Kurt behind. Once the door of the house closed behind the whirlwind known affectionately as Bas, Kurt pulled out his iPhone, pulling up the text menu. _I’m bringing my cousin with me today to take a tour, so don’t worry if I’m late to first period,_ he sent to Blaine, Jeff, and Nick, who all shared his first class.  
  
The responses he received made him laugh. He received a very polite _Cousin?_ from Blaine. While Jeff and Nick texted as they talked, alternating words as if they were the Weasley twins from Harry Potter.  
  
 _You have a cousin?_ –Nick  
  
 _Ignore Nick, you’re obviously allowed to have family._ –Jeff  
  
 _I was just asking because you never mention him._ –Nick  
  
 _And he was wondering…_ -Jeff  
  
 _Is he hot?_ –Nick  
  
 _Feel free to smack him._ –Jeff  
  
 _Aehsousdschou_ -Nick  
  
Kurt assumed that that last one was the result of Jeff finally getting fed up with his boyfriend’s antics and attempting to either steal the phone or kiss him to death. It really varied daily with those two. He sent another mass text to the three, figuring that the couple was probably sitting next to Blaine in the Warbler common room or the dining hall anyway and Blaine had probably witnessed the wrestling match. _My cousin Sebastian Smythe is taking a tour of Dalton today. Jeff, Nick, please refrain from molesting him. He’d like it and would probably end up teaching you two something new about being perverts. We don’t need that. And I don’t know if he’s hot, he’s like my brother._  
  
Kurt knew that his relationship with Blaine was probably strained after his little outburst at the Lima Bean the day before, but he had been relieved when Blaine had responded to that first text, even if it was only one word. He was further comforted when Blaine sent another text in response. _I’ll keep a look out for the two of you._  
  
However, it was the response that he received from Trent, another Warbler who was Nick’s other best friend, who had probably also been present for the text spam/wrestling match, that made Kurt want to smack someone. _Didn’t you use to have a crush on your brother? ;)_  
  
Sebastian returned to the car carrying a battered leather book bag before Kurt could formulate a way to quietly kill Trent and dispose of his body without being noticed. “What’s up?” he yawned, tossing the bag behind him. “I know that look. It’s your ‘how can I kill someone and not get caught’ look.”  
  
Kurt snorted. “You would know. You saw it often enough, mostly directed at you, Bas.”  
  
Sebastian shrugged. “How was I supposed to know that shirt couldn’t be put in the dryer?”  
  
“There are fabric labels for a reason, idiot,” Kurt muttered, instinctively heading towards the Lima Bean, needing coffee more now than he had been five minutes before. Once there, he made the executive decision to go in himself and leave Sebastian in the car so his cousin couldn’t attempt to flirt with the entire male population inside the shop. Once he got the cups, he rushed back out to his car, shoving Sebastian’s cup at his cousin. He took a moment to enjoy a long sip of his coffee before depositing it in the cup holder and turning towards Dalton.  
  
When Kurt pulled the Navigator into his preferred parking spot in the unofficial Warbler section of the student parking lot, he wasn’t even surprised by what looked like at least half of the Warblers loitering by the entrance to the school.  
  
“Friends of yours?” Sebastian asked, his eyebrow cocked. He thought he recognized one of the teens as the guy he had ogled the day before in the coffee shop.  
  
Kurt sighed loudly, putting the SUV into park before reaching behind him to pull out his own book bag. “They’re the Warblers, the Dalton glee club. I texted the ones I’m closest to this morning while you were getting dressed. Apparently, they decided to meet us and brought along others to gawk at my mysterious cousin. Oh, the adorable blond and the guy that’s attached to him by the lips are my closest friends other than Blaine and if they proposition you and you break either of their hearts, I will remove your testicles myself,” he threatened.  
  
Sebastian snorted. “I see the love,” he said sarcastically. “So how is it that two guys you’ve known for less than six months mean more to you than your almost brother?” He grabbed his own bag as Kurt took the time to check his hair in the rearview mirror.  
  
“You’ve never offered a threesome?” Kurt joked, grinning at the younger teen as he locked the doors of his baby after they got out.  
  
Sebastian playfully leered at Kurt. “If I knew that was all it took to earn your eternal loyalty, I would have…sorry, can’t finish that sentence. It’s too weird.” The two laughed loudly for a moment as they deliberately walked slowly so they could finish their coffee. “Though I now understand your friendship with Santana and Brittany even more now,” he mused.  
  
Kurt smiled fondly as he remembered his favorite former Cheerios. He looked towards the gaggle of Warblers as he formulated his next response. “Nick and Jeff mean so much to me because after I auditioned for a solo my first week at Dalton and didn’t make it to the second round, they didn’t gloat. They didn’t pull a Rachel and taunt me about how they were liked more than me or that they deserved the solo more than me. They simply came back to where I was sitting after receiving the instructions for the next round and talked to me. They gave me awesome hugs and offered to buy me a coffee to cheer me up. It just kind of spiraled from there.”  
  
Sebastian silently vowed to get to know the two and eventually thank them for being there for Kurt when Sebastian couldn’t.  
  
“Kurty!” Jeff yelled, grinning at his friend as the other Warbler got closer. “Were you trying to avoid us by getting here with only minutes to spare?”  
  
Nick wrapped an arm around his boyfriend’s waist and subtly eyed the tall teen next to Kurt. “If you were, you should know better. You should know the lengths that private school boys will go to for new gossip, and you, our dear little spy, have stopped being interesting _months_ ago.” The grin on his face belied the words though.  
  
“Who is this?” Thad asked, pushing his way through the pack of Warblers to the front. He winked flirtatiously at Sebastian, once again surprising Kurt with his obvious bisexuality. The crush on Blaine had been the first clue.  
  
Kurt watched impassively as his cousin exchanged flirty looks at the council member. Jeff and Nick attached themselves to Kurt’s sides like really attractive bookends. Kurt smiled softly at the two, knowing that they were acting like any of his girl friends would. He suspected that they were also attaching themselves to him as visible proof that they were siding with him against Blaine, since Kurt had almost immediately confided in the two after Rachel’s party.  
  
The first bell rang, startling the group. “Are you going to introduce us?” Thad asked again, reluctantly turning away from Sebastian’s gaze.  
  
Kurt grinned as Jeff put his head on his shoulder and batted his eyelashes at the countertenor. “Yeah Kurty, introduce us.”  
  
Kurt kissed the top of Jeff’s head affectionately. “Guys, this is my cousin Sebastian Smythe. He was living in France with my mother’s sister and had intended on moving back next year. However, after the year I had, his mother decided to send him back early so we could be around each other again.” Kurt fibbed on the details, making it seem like his Aunt had a better reason for sending her son out of the country than the fact that her husband was a jackass. “Sebastian is supposed to tour the school today, which is why he’s here.” Kurt’s eyes drifted towards Blaine, trying to gauge his mood. “Sebastian, these are some of the Warblers.” He nodded with his head at each boy as he said their names. “You’ve met Thad. That’s Trent, another McKinley transfer. Flint,” he said, indicating the tall beatboxer. “These two growths on my arms are Nick and Jeff,” he indicated with his head which was which. “And that’s Blaine, the lead soloist.”  
  
Blaine nodded at Sebastian before grabbing Thad’s arm. “We should get inside,” he said quietly, not waiting for the junior before he started inside the building.  
  
“What’s with him?” Nick asked, the three friends moving together towards the door. “He didn’t seem like he wanted to talk at all this morning.”  
  
“We had a fight yesterday,” Kurt said. “I said some things I don’t want to repeat about bisexuality, despite the fact that I know several and have always accepted their orientation. He just hurt me so much when he kissed her. Any other girl and I would have been able to deal with it, but not her.”  
  
It seemed to Sebastian like his cousin was speaking in code but all he could glean from the words was that Blaine had hurt Kurt by kissing some girl. Knowing what he did about Kurt’s old club, it was probably Rachel. Kurt literally got along with every girl in the New Directions other than her, and even that rivalry had been thawing when Kurt transferred.  
  
“But he’s gay,” Trent said confused from the other side of Nick.  
  
“He is,” Sebastian confirmed. He hadn’t missed the appreciative look Blaine had shot at himself as well as the ones directed at the interestingly hot threesome his cousin and the established couple had made with the couple wrapped around Kurt.  
  
Kurt nodded also. “He’s just exploring his options, which I support. The kissing Rachel and then agreeing to go on a date with her is what upset me. And when I get upset, I attack.”  
  
Trent rolled his eyes. “Could he be any more oblivious?” he muttered. Sebastian made note to also get the low down from this Trent guy, he seemed to be fairly caught up on the gossip.  
  
Once inside the school, Kurt eventually had to force Jeff and Nick to let go of him and head for class with promises that he would be right there. After a reluctant (on Kurt’s part) fist bump with Trent, the cousins were finally left alone again.  
  
“Well…they’re _interesting_ ,” Sebastian drawled.  
  
Kurt laughed as he headed in the direction of the office. “Just try being in the middle of a meeting where the three council members try and give all the solos to Blaine, while Jeff and Nick make out practically on top of you and Trent declares everything as a ‘kangaroo court’. I’m pretty sure the others don’t even bother speaking up anymore and are simply there for the entertainment value.” The fact that he had spotted at least half a dozen Warblers passing around a bowl of popcorn during the last meeting while another fight raged also factored into that assessment.  
  
“At least they don’t actually break out into physical fights,” Sebastian offered, remembering the email he got months ago about Santana attempting to take out Rachel during a meeting while the teacher was sick. Kurt snorted with laughter as he remembered the various times the New Directions meetings erupted in physical confrontations.  
  
Kurt waved at the secretary in the office. “Hello Mary. This is Sebastian Smythe. He’s here for a tour of the campus. His father Thomas Smythe set it up yesterday.”  
  
Mary typed something in her computer before nodding. “Yes, his sponsor is you, Kurt Hummel, correct?”  
  
Sebastian looked at Kurt in confusion. “Every transfer has a sponsor, a fancy term for a guide,” Kurt explained. “When I transferred, Blaine was mine. I’m sure that since I’m your cousin, it was thought that you would prefer my company over a stranger.” He turned back to the secretary. “Yes I’m his sponsor. However, I have a test in second period that I cannot miss. So I cannot give him the tour.”  
  
The woman waved his concerns away. “Don’t worry; we have members of the welcoming committee do the actual tour. It’s only when the student actually starts attending classes that the sponsor is required.” She looked at the clock. “Let me write you a pass so you’re not marked late for your first period class.” She handed over a slip of paper and Kurt squeezed Sebastian’s arm before leaving him in the office. She waited for the door to close behind Kurt before turning back to Sebastian. “Okay Mr. Smythe, your father told us that you are transferring from a school in France, is that correct?”  
  
Sebastian shifted the bag on his shoulder, pulling his transcripts out of it. “I have been alternating school years in France and America. Before entering high school, I was attending boarding schools during the school year so I didn’t alternate countries. It was only when I entered high school and was no longer allowed to attend the boarding school that I was forced to alternate.” He handed over the transcripts.  
  
Mary looked over the transcript. She doubled as the registrar when the man in the official position was absent. She looked immediately for the reason why such a polite young man would have been kicked out of a boarding school. And she found it. _Student expelled for inappropriate conduct on school grounds._ Her eyebrow rose. “If you don’t mind me asking, just what was the ‘inappropriate conduct’?”  
  
Sebastian sighed. He had hoped that he wouldn’t be asked, but should have known better. Every school he had attended since his middle school years had asked. “The ‘moral decency’ officer discovered that I was gay,” he said shortly.  
  
Mary’s eyebrow rose higher. “And that warranted expulsion?”  
  
Another sigh. “He discovered me kissing another student in one of the stairwells. He didn’t react well. It was my first kiss, but when he brought up the incident to the dean, he made it sound like we had been having sex. _That_ warranted expulsion.”  
  
Mary was outraged. “You were thirteen!” she yelled, having noted the year and grade Sebastian had been in at the time.  
  
Sebastian nodded. “A girl in my year had gotten pregnant a few months earlier. She was also thirteen and after that incident, the dean was cracking down on any incidents of “promiscuity”,” Sebastian said, using air quotes. “So I was expelled without even hearing my side of the story and the expulsion stopped me getting into any other boarding school in America. Oddly enough, Europe doesn’t have the same hang up as America,” he noted wryly. “Anyway, I’ve alternated countries ever since I entered high school. I spent my freshman year in France, sophomore here in Ohio, and I was supposed to finish this year in France, but it was decided that I should come back to America after Kurt had so much trouble at his old school. My mom thought that he would need me.” Sebastian continued the fake back story to his return to America that Kurt had created.  
  
Mary nodded, looking over Sebastian’s grades from the past two years. Her brow furrowed when she looked at the classes. She sighed. She had been afraid of this when she heard that Sebastian had been alternating countries. “I’m afraid there is a problem Mr. Smythe.”  
  
Sebastian frowned. “What is it? I’ve had perfect grades!”  
  
Mary shook her head. “It’s not that Mr. Smythe. It’s your classes, more the fact that several of your classes from France will not transfer to Dalton. I’m afraid that this will place you in the grade below where you should be.”  
  
“What? I’m going to be a sophomore again? I should be a junior!” Sebastian raged internally. He wasn’t one to let his anger show on his face, but inside he was cursing out everyone that he felt was the cause of losing a year: his mother, his father, his fucking step-father, _especially_ that douche. He wasn’t going to graduate with Kurt next year. That meant that he couldn’t go to New York with him either until a year later. He began cursing mentally in French, English just not having enough punch for the invectives he wanted to spew at the system.  
  
Mary watched the young man before her and she could tell that he was very upset by the way that his hands were clenched. She grabbed a paper from a file holder next to her. “You could always try and appeal your placement Mr. Smythe, but I’m afraid that it would do little good. Or, when Mr. Fry reviews your transcripts, he may place you in your correct year.”  
  
“Mr. Fry?”  
  
“The actual registrar. He is not here today which is why I am looking over your file. However, I would not count on it because of the difference between the two types of courses you’ve taken in the last two years.”  
  
Before Sebastian could say anything further, a knock sounded from the office door. Sebastian turned to see an Asian boy standing outside.  
  
Mary smiled and waved the boy in. “Here’s your tour guide now. Sebastian Smythe, this is Wes Montgomery. He is a member of the Welcoming club and also the president of the Warblers, of which your cousin is a member.”  
  
Sebastian could feel Wes’ eyes on him. Sebastian was used to having eyes on him; he just knew somehow that the Asian teen wasn’t staring at him due to lust and wanting to get into his pants. It was more trying to figure out which Warbler was Sebastian’s cousin. Sebastian was content to allow Wes to come to the decision on his own, especially since from the small group that he had met that morning, Sebastian could be related to at least three members just from that group.  
  
Mary, however, accidentally ruined his fun. “Wesley here will give you the full tour and bring you back here so you can sign papers. Once that is over, I will give you a welcome packet to give to your father. Mr. Hummel’s lunch period should line up with the time that we’re finished here. I will give him another late pass to his after lunch class so he can return you to your home so you are not forced to stay the rest of the day. However, if you wish to stay and get an early look at some extracurricular activities, I will have you escorted to the library where you can use the computers for the rest of the day.”  
  
Wes’ gaze became even more appraising. “You’re Kurt’s cousin?” he asked quietly.  
  
Mary smiled brightly at the two of them, waving them off so they could do the tour.  
  
Sebastian reluctantly followed Wes out of the office and down the hall. “What was with that question?” he demanded. “You have something against Kurt?”  
  
Wes looked aghast at Sebastian. “What? No! Of course not! It’s just that Kurt hasn’t mentioned you, at all. He’s been nice enough to listen to my relationship troubles the last couple months, it was just surprising to hear that his cousin was coming to Dalton.”  
  
Sebastian calmed slightly. He would be the first to admit that he was now overprotective of his cousin after the year that Kurt had. And he suspected there was more to the almost clinical description that Kurt had given him the day before. “In his defense, he didn’t even know I was back in the country until yesterday. And I didn’t know I’d be going to Dalton until last night.”  
  
Wes decided to wait to interrogate Sebastian until the younger teen was a student. If Wes could read Sebastian correctly, there was no way in hell the brunet was going to let his cousin out of his sight any time soon.  
  
XxXxX  
  
Kurt looked at the clock in the classroom distractedly. He couldn’t help but wish for the class to end so that he could meet up with Sebastian and hope that Sebastian hadn’t devoured the soul of whoever had been doomed to show him around Dalton. His cousin was like Santana and Coach Sylvester like that.  
  
When the bell rang, Kurt hurriedly packed his notes and things back inside his bag before grabbing Jeff by the wrist as they exited their class. “I’m stealing you and your boyfriend for lunch today. I don’t know if Blaine is currently speaking to me and frankly, at this moment, I don’t care.” He didn’t give his friend a chance to respond before dragging the blond towards the office.  
  
“Hey babe woah! Where’s the fire?” Nick asked as Jeff latched onto Nick’s hand the same way Kurt had hold of his wrist. “Are we finally going to do that threesome?”  
  
“Not happening Nicholas,” Kurt stated. “We’re picking up Sebastian at the office for lunch. We will then head off campus while I try and figure out how to keep him entertained until school and Warblers are finished.” The three made an odd sight as they travelled down the hall in a chain. However, since the three were well known Warbler members, no one commented and students even got out of the way for them. It was a reaction that Kurt hadn’t had since he was a Cheerio, and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t missed it.  
  
Nick hurried up so that he was walking in tandem with his boyfriend. “Can we still have the threesome? Would Sebastian be up for it? He’s hot.”  
  
Kurt rolled his eyes. “You know, one day you are going to set someone off with comments like that. And I’m just going to stand by and laugh. However, if you play it right, Sebastian would probably agree. You should just make sure your boyfriend is good with that first.” Jeff’s eyes were glazed at the thought, so it was pretty obvious that he was on board. “Now I’ll give you guys the same warning I gave Sebastian this morning. Hurt him and I’ll hurt you. He got the more graphic threat though because despite your joking, I know you two have good hearts.”  
  
Jeff laughed. “You’re really giving us the ‘hurt him and I’ll break your face’ speech? Darling, I’ve seen your cousin. I’m sure he’d be the one breaking hearts, not us. Besides, we’d be up front about it just being sex and something short-term. We made the same offer to you after all.”  
  
Kurt side-eyed Jeff. “I didn’t know you two were serious. I thought you were just joking with me like Santana and Brittany. Well, Santana at least. I’m pretty sure Brittany meant every offer.”  
  
“The two hot cheerleaders offered to have a threesome with you? And you turned them down?” Trent asked, suddenly appearing next to them. “You should have told the jocks. They might have respected you for having the balls to do what they could never do.”  
  
Kurt blandly stared at Trent. “I’m gay Trent. It would have had no interest to me. In fact, I’ve seen most of the hottest girls at McKinley naked and no reaction.”  
  
Jeff and Nick both stopped dead at that. “You’ve seen naked girls? Do you have pictures?” they asked in unison.  
  
Kurt rolled his eyes. “Why on Earth would I have pictures?”  
  
“Because you could have bought protection from the jocks with them,” Nick said.  
  
Kurt looked confused. “But that would have been betraying the girls.”  
  
“And, Gay-face, that is why you’ll always be one of the girls instead of one of the guys,” Sebastian said, popping up behind his cousin.  
  
Jeff, Nick, Trent, and Wes all gaped at Sebastian. They had all liked Sebastian at first, but something like that wouldn’t be tolerated. “Watch your mouth!” Trent snapped, being the first to collect himself.  
  
The cousins looked at Trent in confusion. Then Kurt’s face lit up with understanding. “No Trent, he wasn’t making a slur. That’s one of his nicknames for me. I know that it might seem like he’s making a comment on my sexuality, but he’s not. I promise.” He then turned back to his cousin. “There’s a zero-tolerance policy on bullying. That’s why they look like that.”  
  
Suddenly things made a lot more sense to Sebastian. Not in the least the looks on Kurt’s friend’s faces, but also a reason why his Uncle Burt would send Kurt to such an expensive school and why his own father would want to send him to the school. Zero-tolerance would be a pretty powerful motivator. And he suddenly had the feeling that his father knew more about his home life in France than he had previously thought. “So what’s with the group?”  
  
Kurt looked at the mini Warbler meeting. “Well, Jeff, Nick and I are going to lunch with you. I don’t know why Trent and Wes are here. Oh, have you met Wes yet?”  
  
Wes nodded. “I was his tour guide.” He didn’t add that it had been one of the most frustrating experiences in his life. Sebastian hadn’t wanted to be out of his cousin’s sight and it was obvious. But it was also obvious that Sebastian was trying to be sneaky about finding out about Kurt’s friends at Dalton and any information that the Warbler might know about Kurt’s McKinley friends as well.  
  
Kurt shot the senior an apologetic smile and received a grateful smile in return. “Well gentlemen, I’ll see you later at the Warbler meeting. Boys,” he said, directed at his cousin and the couple who were not-so-secretly ogling him. He then turned and walked towards the parking lot, trusting that the three would follow him. They did.  
  
XxXxX


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1st Youtube link: http://youtu.be/hxD-sJIQpxk  
> 2nd Youtube link: http://youtu.be/v_XHTzc6lag?t=1m56s
> 
> They're also included on the first line of each song.

As soon as the bell rang, signaling that the school day was over, Kurt made his way towards the library. He should have known that Sebastian would want to stick around to see the Warblers after hearing so much about them from Kurt.  
  
Sebastian was in the middle of reading _Notre Dame de Paris_ in French as his cousin came to collect him. After he had checked his email and Facebook while waiting for the school day to come to an end, he had gotten bored and started reading a chapter of the book in French and the English translation _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_. As he was fluent in both languages, it was amusing for him to see the ways the story changed in translation. He was also humming songs from the musical as he did so. He was almost tempted to force Kurt to sing one of the songs with him at the Warbler meeting.  
  
“Ready Meerkat?”  
  
Sebastian looked up and smiled warmly at his cousin. “More than.” He grabbed the books and shoved them at Kurt. “Check these out for me.”  
  
Kurt rolled his eyes at his cousin’s demand but did as requested since if he didn’t, Sebastian would be pouty and a pain in the ass. And considering he was pretty sure that the Warblers were going to get nothing done at this meeting thanks to the addition of Sebastian, which would make Wes even more anal at the next meeting, he just wanted to keep the other teen as calm as possible. As they made their way down the stairs leading to the Warbler common room, Kurt spoke up. “Please do me a favor and remember you’re representing me while we’re in there. Because if you embarrass me, I will smother you in your sleep,” he threatened.  
  
“You’ve gotten violent,” Sebastian mused, the sound of vocal warm ups filling the air as they got closer to a set of double doors.  
  
“Consequence of being around jocks,” Kurt dismissed. “And you wouldn’t believe how creative threats get in a zero-tolerance school. Especially because they’re never meant to be threatening.”  
  
Before Sebastian could reply, they reached the Warbler common room. Kurt, deciding to be dramatic, threw open the doors while striding through. All eyes in the room locked onto Kurt who moved towards the piano where Blaine was running through the warm up routine. “Sorry I’m late.”  
  
Blaine didn’t say anything but instead turned back to the keys on the piano. Kurt huffed, obviously Blaine was going to be petulant and not even try and be pleasant for the sake of the group.  
  
Jeff attached himself to Kurt’s side, glaring lightly at Blaine, not that the curly haired boy could tell since he had his back to Kurt.  
  
Sebastian sauntered over to the couch and sprawled over it. “So, what do you do in this club other than ignore friends who said stupid things?” Sebastian asked pointedly in Blaine’s direction.  
  
The Warblers that weren’t in the know looked confused but the ones that had an inkling looked at Sebastian with a mixture of disbelief and respect. Except for Kurt, who looked a little upset at his cousin’s interference. Sebastian just looked unimpressed.  
  
Sebastian jumped up and moved so that he was sitting on the arm of the couch. “Hey Prez,” he directed at Wes, “just so you know, I’m hijacking your meeting. Kurty, come over here.”  
  
Kurt warily walked towards his cousin, not trusting the other teen not to choose some song so outside of Kurt’s range it was funny. Anyone else would say Kurt was being paranoid; however, Sebastian had done it before a couple years before. So he had reason to doubt his cousin.  
  
Sebastian leaned over and whispered a song in Kurt’s ear, causing a smirk to appear on the face of the innocent looking Hummel.  
  
“French or English?”  
  
Sebastian grinned. “Surprise me.”  
  
Kurt pulled his phone out of his bag and pulled up some music, placing the phone down on the arm of the couch next to his cousin. Kurt started off the song.  
  
 _[Mes quatorze printemps](http://youtu.be/hxD-sJIQpxk)  
  
Sont à toi  
  
Ce collier de diamants  
  
Est pour moi  
  
Les mots de tes serments  
  
Si tu mens  
  
Je n’y croirai pas_  
  
Sebastian grinned at the dropped jaws of several of the Warblers as they heard his cousin sing the song completely in French. He picked up the song at his part.  
  
 _Ton cur dejouvencelle  
  
Est à moi  
  
Tes yeux de tourterelle  
  
Sont pour moi  
  
Les étoiles étincellent  
  
Dans le ciel  
  
Moins que cest diamants-là_  
  
Kurt couldn’t help but dance around as he sang. He had missed being able to just belt out a song whenever he had the urge, rather than working within Wes’ tightly structured meeting format. In fact, the only one that got away with singing randomly was Blaine, causing Kurt to strongly feel like he was living within an episode of the sitcom “Blaine and the Pips” about a show choir that was led by a charming dictator. But Kurt wasn’t bitter…not at all. Cue mental eye rolls. He was totally bitter.  
  
 _Celui que mon cur aime  
  
Est un beau chevalier  
  
Qui ne sait pas lui-même  
  
Combien je peux l’aimer_  
  
Sebastian felt pride at the sight of his cousin enjoying himself. He was sure that it had been some time since Kurt had been given a chance to just enjoy singing again.  
  
 _Si je ne le sais pas  
  
Je le vois dans tes yeux  
  
Celui qui t’amera  
  
Sere un home heureux_  
  
The cousins bounced lyrics off of each other for the next part.  
  
 _Ne cherches plus l‘amour  
  
Il est là  
  
Il est là pour toujours  
  
Je le crois_  
  
Kurt took the longer bit for the first appearance of the refrain.  
  
 _Ce sera un beau jour  
  
Que le jour  
  
Où l’on se mariera_  
  
Sebastian smirked at Blaine as he slinked closer to the frowning sophomore.  
  
 _Tout l’or qui dort encore  
  
Sous le lit de la terre  
  
J’en couvrirai ton corps  
  
Que tu m’auras offert_  
  
Kurt took the last solo part of the song before the refrain would be repeated twice.  
  
 _Tous les mots de l’amour  
  
Tous les mots du désir  
  
Mieux que les troubadours  
  
Tu sauras me les dire_  
  
For the repeated refrains, instead of them saying the lyrics in the same order as they did the first time, they just continued alternating lyrics for both repeats.  
  
 _Ne cherches plus l‘amour  
  
Il est là  
  
Il est là pour toujours  
  
Je le crois  
  
Ne cherches plus l‘amour  
  
Il est là  
  
Il est là pour toujours  
  
Je le crois_  
  
For the last two verses, the cousins sang together.  
  
 _Ce sera un beau jour  
  
Que le jour  
  
Où l’on se mariera  
  
Ce sera un beau jour  
  
Que le jour  
  
Où l’on se mariera  
  
Où l’on se mariera_  
  
As the music died out, Kurt and Sebastian were left grinning at each other. It had been what felt like forever since they had sung together. Much less when they had last sung together in French.  
  
Wes, David and Thad all stared at Kurt, dumbfounded. They had thought that they knew what Kurt’s voice could do, but obviously they were mistaken. There had been a warmth to Kurt’s voice when he sung that song that they had never heard before. Then, with a jolt, they realized that none of them had seen Kurt sing any songs, outside the auditions for Sectionals, that had fallen outside the plans that Wes has so carefully created.  
  
Wes exchanged looks with his best friend, the two silently vowing to allow Kurt more of a chance to shine, obviously that voice deserved it. There was also no way in hell that the Warblers were going to let Sebastian get away with having that voice and not belong to the club. Wes cleared his throat, and discretely stopped his phone from recording the song, before speaking. “So… _Notre Dame de Paris_? Obviously you can sing Fleur de Lys, but what about Esmerelda?”  
  
Kurt smirked at Wes. “I can sing every major part…except for Quasimodo. I’m afraid my voice just can’t get that gravelly tone that would do Garou’s original justice.”  
  
David leaned forward. “Do you know both languages? More importantly, do you have sheet music for them both?”  
  
Sebastian spoke up. “Are you kidding, he was the one that introduced me to the show…and I’m the one that lived in France.”  
  
Kurt decided to ignore his cousin’s interruption. “I do have sheet music for both languages, but they’re at home since I wasn’t expecting to be singing the song today.” _Or any day,_ went unsaid.  
  
Sebastian sat back and smiled smugly when the room erupted with comments from the Warblers. _Heh, not so much Blaine and the Pips anymore, is it Blaine?_  
  
XxXxX  
  
The next day, was a teacher training day, which meant that the students had it off. It didn’t make any sense to Kurt to have a day off in the middle of the week, but he wasn’t the one that made the schedule. Sebastian seemed to like getting to spend more time with Kurt and had in fact confiscated the couch in the Hummel-Hudson living room rather than go back to his dad’s house.  
  
Kurt, however, was ready to smother Sebastian to get a break from him. He loved his cousin, Sebastian was the closest Kurt had had to a brother for years, but he was starting to get on Kurt’s nerves.  
  
Never let it be said that Sebastian Smythe didn’t know when he was annoying his companion. That acquired knowledge meant that the taller brunet simply told his cousin to get dressed, grabbed the Navigator keys, and dragged his cousin out the door despite Kurt’s protests. He drove around Lima until he eventually came across where he wanted to be.  
  
Kurt paled a little at the sight of his former school: William McKinley High School. “Bas, what are we doing here?” he asked a little desperately as he clambered out of the SUV after his cousin, who was already halfway towards the entrance. He flinched instinctively when the alarm for his car beeped behind him. That’s what being at this school did to him. It turned him into a scared little mouse again. He took a deep breath and straightened his back. He was Kurt Hummel and this school was lucky that he had ever deigned to step foot inside it. And he really did hold the opinion that the majority of the school’s jock population would one day work for him, either at his Dad’s tire shop, or as some sort of repairmen for his future house. He may be prepared to blow this popsicle stand as soon as he graduates, but that doesn’t mean that he would leave his dad high and dry and never come back to visit. Besides, he still held the deed to his childhood home, which hadn’t actually been sold but was being rented out until he was old enough that he chose to live there.  
  
Sebastian pretended to not notice the flinch but, as he was walking in front of Kurt, he allowed himself to grit his teeth at the sight of his practically fearless cousin flinching just at being back at this school. He wouldn’t allow himself to be distracted from his goal. He walked confidently through the front doors of the school, eying the sea of red clad students.  
  
It was apparently a passing period because none of the students paid the two teens any attention as they rushed around. Sebastian kept an eye out for the person he had come there for and finally he found him leaning against a locker and talking with some guys in mullets. Sebastian assumed that these were hockey players from the frankly horrifying haircut and the fact that they were wearing their jerseys for some reason. Sebastian considered yelling out the nickname, but refrained because he didn’t want to actually embarrass him. “Dave!” he called out, getting the attention of the jock.  
  
Dave looked up and his face contorted in surprise when he spotted Sebastian. He nodded at the hockey jocks and moved over to where Sebastian was standing. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed Kurt hovering behind his cousin.  
  
“In my defense, I had nothing to do with this, he kidnapped me this morning,” Kurt said quietly.  
  
“David,” Sebastian said evenly.  
  
“Sebastian,” Dave responded calmly. “I thought you were going to be in France until next year.”  
  
Kurt looked between the two, obviously the two had been in contact after Kurt and Dave had broken their friendship.  
  
Dave looked around to see if anyone had noticed that he was talking with Kurt. “Seriously Seb, what are you doing here?”  
  
Sebastian grinned. “Did you really think that I could come back and not see you? You’re the Pumbaa to my Timon. We have some talking to do. However, I’m willing to wait until after school.” He turned to Kurt. “Why don’t you head onto Glee while I talk with Dave?”  
  
Kurt looked between the two before nodding hesitantly. He walked away while continuing to look over his shoulder as he walked away.  
  
Once Kurt was far enough away to not overhear them, Sebastian turned back to Dave. “We _will_ be talking David Joseph Karofsky. We were best friends for far too long for you to just bow to peer pressure and leave Kurt hanging for popularity. And the shoving! We will be discussing that.”  
  
“Hey D! Who you talkin’ to?” Azimio Adams asked, coming up behind the two. “Oh shit! Hey, Sebastian, man!” Azimio held out his hand to Sebastian for him to either shake his hand or for them to bump fists.  
  
Sebastian deliberately put his hands behind his back. “Sorry, but I do not deliberately initiate contact with those that insult that which I am.”  
  
Azimio looked extremely confused. “What the fuck are you talking about?”  
  
Sebastian looked directly into Azimio’s eyes. “I do not shake hands with homophobes,” he stated simply.  
  
“You gay man?” Azimio asked. Dave looked curious too, since he didn’t actually know for sure.  
  
Sebastian nodded.  
  
“Cool man. Do you want to throw the ball around this weekend? Or will you be busy doing shit with Hummel and Hudson?”  
  
Both Sebastian and Dave looked at Azimio as if he had sprouted wings and called himself the tooth fairy. “What the fuck?” Sebastian asked. “You bullied the hell out of Kurt for being gay and when I tell you that I’m gay you just shrug it off?” he demanded.  
  
Dave looked angry about that also. “Is it because Sebastian is a lacrosse player? Does that somehow make it more okay to you?”  
  
Azimio smirked at the sight of the two of them teamed up to defend Hummel. It reminded him of old times. “First of all, _you_ started that shit with Hummel,” he reminded Dave. “I was content to just shove him around and toss slushies at him like we did all the losers. _You’re_ the one that started targeting him. Second of all, I remember the three of you being tight as kids. But _you’re_ the one that just dumped him in seventh grade. The way you two were attached at the hip, I never thought you’d just drop him like that. That was cold man, real cold.”  
  
Dave flushed and looked away, his jaw tightening as he was reminded of all the ways he was an asshole to Kurt in the last few years.  
  
“And you, where the hell were you?” Azimio shot at Sebastian. “I may not like the kid that much, but this proves that you give a shit about him. So where have you been the last few years?”  
  
Sebastian grimaced. “Getting falsely accused of having sex on the campus of a boarding school followed by alternating years in France and Ohio. And all that time, being verbally harassed by my homophobic step-father and my mother not giving a shit.”  
  
Azimio looked sorry for bringing it up.  
  
Dave was suddenly reminded of his own mother. Who, when Dave was 8, had suddenly left his father after Paul’s refusal to stop “allowing bad influences” around her baby boy. It wasn’t until Dave was older that he realized that his mother had left because Paul refused to ban Kurt from Dave’s life. Now that Dave thought about it, she had started to pressure Dave into having play dates with Finn, Puck, and Azimio not too long after Kurt was refused entry into the Boy Scouts. Despite having been part of an unofficial troop of three: Kurt, Dave, and Sebastian, the only one that was actually in the organization had been Dave. Kurt had been refused entry and Sebastian had lived outside the range to be in the official troop with Dave in Lima since his father lived just outside Westerville. He looked at the teen who was, according to the McKinley student population, his best friend. “You don’t have anything against gays?”  
  
Azimio snorted. “You kidding? Hummel personally does the maintenance on my car and I got nothing against Berry’s parents. I’m a little frightened that such normal guys could produce the nightmare they did, but I can’t blame them since I’m pretty sure she’s a clone of the director that used to coach Carmel’s glee club. That woman was fucking scary.”  
  
Sebastian and Dave looked at him in confusion. “How the hell did you ever meet Shelby Corcoran?” Sebastian asked.  
  
Azimio shrugged. “My younger cousin Wade is in that district and wants to be in the club when he gets to high school. She was scouting out church groups last year and gave him a spot early. He has to go through the audition thingy then, but he’s already got a spot.”  
  
Dave racked his brain for a memory of Wade and could only remember a boy who liked to play with dolls when he was younger and run around in his mom’s high heels. “Isn’t that the cousin that wanted to be called Wanda last summer until his dad yelled at him?”  
  
Sebastian’s eyebrow rose. That sounded like this cousin could be either like Kurt and gay or possibly transgender.  
  
“What are you pathetic excuses for mouth breathers doing out of class?” interrupted the voice of the Dark Lord: Sue Sylvester. She stalked up to the two jocks and stared them down until they were ready to cower. She turned to do the same to Sebastian before her jaw dropped.  
  
“Aunt Sue.”  
  
Azimio’s eyes widened before he fled the scene. If Sebastian was really related to Sue Sylvester, then that meant that she was also related to Hummel, and if so, it was better for his continued existence if he ran away like a coward left.  
  
Dave, however, knew that Sebastian wasn’t _really_ related to Sue Sylvester. He remembered that Kurt’s mother, Elizabeth Hummel, had worked for the nursing home that Jean Sylvester lived in. And on several afternoons, Mrs. Hummel would take the three boys with her to work for the afternoon until Mr. Hummel or Dave’s dad would get off work. Dave remembered Jean. She was a sweet woman who liked spending time with the boys.  
  
It was during those afternoons that Dave first met Sue Sylvester, a devil in a tracksuit. She had resisted allowing the boys to spend time with her sister at first, but as she bonded with both Kurt and Sebastian over their innate ability to be absolute bitches to people, it left Dave with Jean on occasion. No one knew, except maybe Kurt, who was kind of a ninja like that, but Dave still visited Jean every week even after his friendship with Kurt ended. He suspected that Kurt did also and now that Sebastian was back, he would probably visit along with Kurt.  
  
“Sebastian,” Sue said neutrally. “I assume since you’re here that Porcelain is also.”  
  
“I assume that Porcelain is a new nickname for Kurt and will ignore it. And yes, he’s visiting with the Glee club while I talk to Dave. However, I should probably be going to meet him. Dave, text me and we’ll meet up after school. Aunt Sue,” he nodded at the woman before walking away.  
  
“What are you still doing here Hamhock?” Sue snapped, stalking down the hall in the other direction.  
  
Dave watched her walk away to make sure it was safe to move before heading to his class. He sighed and smiled a bit. _He talked to me,_ he thought giddily. It was kind of ridiculous just how big of a crush on his former best friend he had. He often felt like a 12 year old girl when he started gushing in his head. He shook his head and made sure to snap the façade of dumb jock back on his face before he ran into someone in the hall.  
  
XxXxX  
  
Sebastian ended up meeting Kurt in the hallway where his cousin was busy chatting with a group of uniform clad girls. Sebastian assumed that these were the famous Cheerios, of whom Kurt was a former member. As Sebastian got closer, he overheard them all discussing various skin creams and he smirked. His cousin couldn’t be more of a stereotype if he tried. Not that he’d ever tell Kurt that, since he was pretty sure Kurt would punch him in the balls if Sebastian called him a stereotype. He stepped up. “Excuse me Kurt, ladies,” he added with a wink at the cheerleaders, causing them to giggle madly at him. “But if you want to catch the glee meeting, we might want to be on our way.”  
  
Kurt nodded. “Of course. Ladies, email me and I’ll finish up your personalized skincare routines for you.” He hugged a couple of the girls, including one that obviously had Down’s Syndrome, which Sebastian recognized from Kurt’s description, as Becky, Sue’s all purpose assistant. After Kurt let go of Becky, Sebastian walked over to her and bent over her hand to press a kiss to it.   
  
“Thank you for looking out for him,” he whispered over her hand, just loud enough for Becky to hear.  
  
“No problem Seb,” Becky asked, surprising Sebastian with her knowledge of who he was. But then, he supposed that he shouldn’t be since Becky seems to be one of Kurt’s friends. And he would undoubtedly have a soft spot for her for her resemblance to Aunt Jean.  
  
The cousins made their way towards the choir room, lightly chatting as they walked. Kurt knew that the first ten to fifteen minutes of the class would be Rachel insisting that her voice was the best one to be used in every song and would cause fights to break out between Rachel and everyone else.  
  
As they got closer to the room, the raised voices of the students could be heard. Kurt was pretty sure he heard Santana ranting at Rachel in Spanish. Kurt peeked into the room and waved for Brad to come out of the choir room. Once the band leader was outside, Kurt whispered quick instructions to him. Brad nodded and walked back into the room and give instructions to the band members.  
  
The band started playing a soft melody. Kurt had arranged with Brad to start the song one verse before the big burst of music near ¾ of the way through the song.  
  
[ _Every story, new or ancient_](http://youtu.be/v_XHTzc6lag?t=1m56s) _  
  
Bagatelle or work of art  
  
All are tales of human failing  
  
All are tales of love at heart_  
  
Kurt had walked through the door as he began singing, causing the arguing to stop as everyone was suddenly reminded of all the times Kurt would sing during rehearsal.  
  
The band played the burst of music that Kurt wanted to use to ensure that he could get the other’s attention.  
  
 _This is the story  
  
Of a love that flourished  
  
In a time of hate  
  
Of lovers no tyranny could separate  
  
Love set into motion on the Nile’s shore  
  
Destiny ignited by an act of war_  
  
Kurt didn’t get to finish the song because he was tackled by the girls as soon as he got to the middle of the room. Cries of “Kurt” echoed off the walls as he was practically smothered by those he affectionately called ‘his girls’. Sebastian couldn’t help but grin at the bright smile on Kurt’s face as he allowed himself to immerse himself in the affection of the glee girls. Only one girl hadn’t attacked Kurt immediately upon seeing him and instead made her way towards where Sebastian was leaning against the doorframe.  
  
“Twink.”  
  
Sebastian smirked widely. “Lilith.”  
  
Santana snorted. “I think I like Satan better. Or Jezebel. That one was amusing. But I wonder why you’re all of a sudden breaking out the Bible insults, Sebby.”  
  
The sound of their talking finally brought Sebastian to the attention of the others. Only a couple recognized him right away, such as Artie, who was probably Kurt’s best guy friend after Dave dropped him, and Puck, who had played lacrosse with Sebastian as a kid. Puck did the bro-nod at Sebastian; content to catch up with him after the Spanish Inquisition was over. He laughed mentally. No one ever expected the Spanish Inquisition, but Puck totally saw it coming with Rachel being the instrument of Sebastian’s upcoming doom.  
  
“Who’s this?” she screeched, looking between Kurt and Sebastian with suspicion. “Did you replace Blaine already?”  
  
Kurt’s eyes narrowed. He was about to spew venom at Rachel for daring to ask that question when Sam spoke up confusedly.  
  
“Is this your new boyfriend Kurt?”  
  
Both Kurt and Sebastian burst into chatter at the same time.  
  
“No way! I would never date him-“  
  
“-giant horse teeth!”  
  
“- him with his Gay-face and girl clothes-“  
  
“And his smirky meerkat face!”  
  
“-Puerto Rican Pride Float!” They finished at the same time.  
  
Everyone stared at the slew of insults with wide eyes. Those not in the know, where so confused that it wasn’t funny. However, they were saved by a well timed comment from Brittany.  
  
“But they can’t be dating, they’re cousins.”  
  
Everyone that didn’t know who Sebastian was looked at the blonde girl in confusion. Sebastian, however, walked up to the blonde and hugged her. “It’s good to see you Brit. You didn’t write and my friends all thought I was making you up,” he said, sitting in the seat next to her that was usually reserved for Santana. The blonde girl immediately launched into a detailed explanation of what Lord Tubbington had been doing for the past few months while also interspersing it with what had been going on with the New Directions.  
  
Kurt sighed and rubbed at the spot between his eyes. His cousin was headache inducing as it was, combine him with Brittany and Kurt knew he would eventually end up with a migraine. He could see that Rachel was ready to shrug off Brittany’s comment and start in with the questioning again and he glared at her to head her off. “I don’t know how many of you that knew me before high school remember that my cousin also attended school with us. This is him, Sebastian Smythe. He is sixteen years old and he just moved back with his father from France. For anyone that is curious, he _is_ gay, not that it is any of your business, but considering he is currently hitting on Puck shamelessly, I thought you guys should know. As for you, Rachel Barbara Berry,” he said, turning to Rachel, ignoring Sebastian who really _was_ hitting on Puck through smoldering glances and flirty winks. “If I did find someone that I was dating, it would be none of your business because I remember bringing my _gay_ friend with me to your party only for you to end up shoving your tongue down his throat and asking him out on a date. So why the hell would I subject another gay guy that I was interested in to your presence since you would undoubtedly once again try and convert him? And let me tell you, this thing with Blaine won’t work. He’s gay. He’s just trying to explore his options.” Once he stopped talking, he couldn’t believe that he had actually said all that. It was how he felt at the moment, but he wasn’t sure that it was fair to say all that to Rachel. Especially with the tears he could see in her eyes. He sighed again. “Rach-“ he started.  
  
Rachel cut him off, wiping at her eyes. “No Kurt. You’re right. I know he’s gay. His voice just goes with mine so well that I was hoping...” They didn’t speak about the elephant in the room that was her former relationship with Finn.  
  
Kurt hugged Rachel tightly, silently apologizing for snapping at her like that. Apparently he was still upset with the kiss at the party. “Rachel Berry, meet my cousin Sebastian Smythe. Sebastian, you already know Brittany, Santana, Artie, Puck, Mercedes and Finn. Tina, Mike, Sam, Quinn, Lauren and our teacher Mr. Schuester, meet my cousin Sebastian.”  
  
Mr. Schuester, for his part, had been shocked when Kurt had just sailed into the class after apparently convincing the band to play for him without even stepping foot into the class. However, when Kurt had shown up with a boy that Will had never seen before, it had confused him for a moment and that had allowed for another epic Rachel and Kurt fight. He had to admit that he had missed those. When Kurt introduced his cousin to the class, Will was shaken out of his stupor. He walked up to Kurt and hugged him. “I missed you,” he whispered quietly. “I’m sorry that I’ve only seen you when I needed something from you.” He then spoke up louder when he released the shocked teen. “So, what brings you two here? You planning on coming to McKinley?” he asked Sebastian as he held out his hand for the teen to shake.  
  
Sebastian shook his head. “Nah, my Dad would probably have a stroke if I went to public school. I’m headed for Dalton alongside Kurtie,” he smirked at his cousin’s glare at the nickname. “Kurt has the day off from Dalton today so I thought we’d surprise you guys. And I had to have a talk with a certain Neanderthal member of the student body,” he muttered.  
  
Santana’s eyes sharpened when she heard that muttered comment since she was sitting on the other side of Brittany now, not even really protesting that her seat had been taken. Artie was assed out though since Brittany was now surrounded by the ‘bitch-twins’ as some of the less creative kids had dubbed Sebastian and Santana in elementary school.  
  
Artie, however, was more interested in catching up with his best friend than fighting over being able to sit with his girlfriend. Besides, Sebastian still kind of frightened him since he could remember the tall teen resorting to violence to defend Kurt, Dave, and Artie when they were younger. Yes, Artie knew that Dave and Kurt had been best friends when they were younger, but Artie had stepped up like a man when Dave had bowed to peer pressure and left Kurt behind. Mercedes might think that she was the first person that Kurt came out to, but she obviously didn’t know that Kurt had come out to both Dave and Artie in the sixth grade when he had confessed that he had a crush on the Green Ranger and wanted to marry Tommy when he was older. Artie also suspected that Dave might not be as straight as he might claim. The lack of a girlfriend for years and the fact that he had gone as the Green Ranger for that Halloween party after Kurt had confessed to his crush was a big flashing warning sign in his mind. However, he knew that Dave needed to come out on his own terms. When it looked like Kurt was going to sit down, Artie eagerly grabbed the empty chair next to him and pulled it close. He could see Kurt smile fondly at him before he obligingly sat there, ignoring the squawk from Mercedes who had assumed that Kurt was going to sit next to her. Artie couldn’t help but grin widely when Kurt hugged him tightly; the first hug the two had shared since Kurt had gone to Dalton.  
  
Mercedes glared in the direction of _her_ best friend and Artie. She couldn’t believe that Kurt had come to surprise the club and had chosen to sit by Artie rather than her. She could understand if Kurt had chosen to sit by Sebastian since she had been forced to hear over the last two years about how much he missed his cousin and wished that Sebastian lived closer and wasn’t forced to spend half of his time in France. She watched with jealousy as Kurt rested his head on Artie’s shoulder after the hug ended. She didn’t like this; she didn’t like this at all…  
  
Kurt could feel the heat of her glare but was ignoring her for the moment. So she didn’t like that he was spending time with Artie, big deal. She really needed to realize that the two were not the only friends that the other would ever have. And besides, he was still a little upset with her for being so upset about him transferring. It was only when he took another breath and stopped paying attention to Mercedes that he realized that Artie still smelled like booze. He eyed his friend from the corner of his eye and vowed to talk to Artie about that after school.  
  
Mr. Schuester stepped in front of the piano. “Just in case Kurt doesn’t know, this week’s theme is Alcohol Awareness because Principal Figgins has asked that we perform at an assembly tomorrow on the risks of alcohol. I thought we’d practice the routine again today during our after school meeting. If you and Sebastian would like to join us, you’re more than welcome Kurt,” the teacher said, looking at the group and feeling satisfied to see the countertenor among them once more, even if it was only for the afternoon.  
  
Kurt exchanged glances with his cousin before nodding. As it was still the middle of the school day and the class period met before the sophomore lunch period (of which Artie was unfortunately a part of despite being the same age as Kurt and Sebastian). So Kurt had plans of kidnapping his best (male) friend and taking him out to lunch. Knowing Santana and Brittany, they would probably end up skipping their class to come with them so Kurt didn’t even intend on refusing to allow them to come along.  
  
When Kurt heard what song the club was intending to do for the assembly, he almost facepalmed. In what universe was ‘Tik Tok’ a good song to use for an Alcohol Awareness assembly? Remarkably, both cousins managed to bite their tongues about the song, especially after hearing that Brittany would be the one singing the song. One because he truly did fear Santana ripping off his balls if he did say something and the other because he did enjoy hearing the blonde sing.  
  
The cousins sat back in the seats of the auditorium with Mr. Schuester as the club practiced their routine again.  
  
Sebastian had to admit he was impressed. Kurt had sent him videos of the club’s performances before, but it was different seeing them live. There was just something about them that made watching them…fun.  
  
Kurt was bouncing along with the club, once again wishing that he was back at McKinley. However, he probably wouldn’t be coming back to the school. He didn’t want to waste the money that his parents used to get him into Dalton, even if his tuition was now paid by his trust fund. They had still given up their honeymoon money for the down payment for his enrollment.  
  
When the music ended, Kurt was on his feet, cheering for his friends. Mr. Schuester directed everyone to the dressing rooms so they could cool down before class ended. Sebastian and Kurt sat with Mr. Schuester and chatted idly with the teacher as they waited for the bell to ring.  
  
The others started trickling out of the dressing rooms with only minutes to go before the bell rang. Mercedes had hurried through her makeup application in an effort to catch Kurt before the bell rang, but when she made her way back out onto the stage she was surprised to see Artie already finished and sitting with Kurt and Sebastian. She growled minutely and wished for once that things would go her way for once.  
  
As she sulked behind one of the side curtains, she watched as Santana and Brittany casually walked over to the cousins and integrate themselves within the conversation without missing a beat. Brittany sat on Artie’s lap and Santana situated herself on Kurt’s lap and she threw her legs over Sebastian’s lap. What really frustrated Mercedes was the fact that Kurt didn’t even pause in his conversation with Artie and Sebastian when all of a sudden a girl draped herself over his lap. Or the fact that Santana was able to easily join in on the conversation without needing to be told what they were talking about.  
  
Or the fact that freaking Santana Lopez was having a conversation with Mercedes’ best friend and his cousin in French. She didn’t even know Santana could speak French, especially with how much Spanish she spoke in her daily life. Mercedes frowned at that thought. That was a little bit racist and not in the good _Avenue Q_ way.  
  
“Is she still looking this way?” Artie asked, his back to the stage. Brittany looked towards the stage casually, disguising it as her running her fingers through her boyfriend’s hair.  
  
“Yes.”  
  
Kurt sighed. “I really wished to avoid this confrontation for as long as possible.” He hugged Santana’s waist and hid his face against her shoulder.  
  
Santana huffed. “I can do it for you Tink.” She turned towards Mercedes. “Lady Lips is going to lunch with us Aretha, you can see yourself out.” She then made a point of ignoring Mercedes’ existence.  
  
“Mama Monster help me,” Kurt breathed against Santana’s shoulder. He could hear Mercedes’ indignant squawk but thankfully the bell rang before she could say anything. The little group of five quickly moved up the aisle and out of the auditorium before anyone could try and stop them.  
  
The five had a semi-comfortable lunch at one of the local burger joints that also served decent salads. When the lunch was over, Kurt drove Artie, Santana and Brittany back to the school. After that, the cousins made the decision to go to the mall so that Sebastian could wander through the Barnes & Noble while Kurt took a look through some of his favorite shops. When they were both done, they curled up with books in the Starbucks comfy chairs and sipped coffees as they read.  
  
Kurt was midway through the third chapter of a new biography of Elizabeth Taylor when his phone beeped. He checked the time and noticed that it was time to leave to go back to the school. He kicked at Sebastian’s chair to get his attention before standing up to throw away the coffee cup.  
  
They drove back to the school and Sebastian decided to hang out in the auditorium until football practice was over. He pulled his phone out and started playing with it, checking his Facebook. Kurt, however, decided to visit with Miss Pillsbury, having already sent a text to Artie to let him know that he was there.  
  
Kurt had bought that book and was hoping to continue with reading it after visiting Miss Pillsbury. However, he got sucked into their conversation and didn’t end up getting back to the book before Artie texted him that he was ready to leave. He apologized to Miss Pillsbury for cutting their conversation short and walked out to meet Artie by the choir room. Thankfully, they were able to get away without anyone noticing them.  
  
“So what was with the song?” Artie asked, looking back at Kurt as his best friend pushed him down the hall. “I mean, I know you like to make an entrance, but that was the biggest one I’ve seen you make in a while.”  
  
Kurt smirked. “You’re looking at the brand new Amneris in the Dalton all-male production of _Aida_.”  
  
Artie grinned and patted Kurt’s hand. “You got the part? That’s great Kurt! But wait, if you’re Amneris, who’s Aida? Why didn’t you get the lead?”  
  
Kurt waved his hand. “It was decided I didn’t look Nubian enough. Wes got Aida, which is probably better since he’s a senior and I’m just a junior.” As they reached his Navigator, Kurt began the process of helping Artie get into the car. “Besides, this way I get to open and close the show. _And_ I get to throw myself all over the guy playing Radames.”  
  
“Which is?” Artie asked interested as Kurt picked him up to settle him in the front seat.  
  
Kurt chuckled. “Blaine was so disappointed when he was told he just didn’t look enough like an Egyptian general. He’s going to play my father, the pharaoh instead. No, actually Flint, the real tall beatboxer is going to play Radames. He’s actually one of the nicest guys in the club, and I had no idea that he could sing as well as he does. Thad will be playing his father and David will be playing the Nubian slave who befriends Aida, Mereb. The rest of the club with be either playing the smaller parts or working backstage.”  
  
Artie waited for Kurt to finish putting his chair in the back of the Navigator and move to the driver’s seat before speaking again. “Is it awkward to think that you’ll be playing a girl’s part opposite a straight guy?”  
  
Kurt shrugged as he started driving towards the Lima Bean, where they would get coffee before making plans as to where they would go to talk. “I don’t know. I like Flint well enough; he’s never had a problem with me or my sexuality. It’s just; I would have really liked to be Aida. I’m happy for Wes though. He has a great voice and a wonderful range. Not quite as high as myself, but he could easily play Angel in Rent and not seem odd because his voice is too low.”  
  
Artie nodded. He knew, even though it seemed no one else did, that Kurt would have loved to sing ‘Defying Gravity’ the year before without having to jump through a million hoops. And even then, he had botched the High F note so that he could try and stop the harassment at the shop for Burt’s sake. “I’m sure you would have been a wonderful Aida, but I can’t lie and say that I don’t think Amneris would be perfect for you. Don’t act like you haven’t been singing ‘My Strongest Suit’ weekly ever since you first heard the show three years ago.”  
  
Kurt hummed and nodded. “Well, I would have the best wardrobe out of the entire production. That is, if I can convince Wes that it needs costumes and not just our uniforms. I’m sure I can get Jeff and Nick to ambush him with me.”  
  
Artie chuckled. Having met the duo months before following Kurt’s transfer, Artie believed that the three could do anything, like cure cancer, or bring about world peace, when teamed up together. “I’d like to see that. Especially since, if he’s not the costume director, it doesn’t actually fall under his purview to accept or reject costume decisions.”  
  
Kurt smirked at that as he pulled into a handicapped parking spot in front of the Lima Bean, pulling the Abrams’ extra placard out of his glove compartment and hooking it on his rearview mirror. He then got out and strut over to the other side, visually mocking the others waiting for spots by his walk. If there was one perk that he appreciated from Artie’s accident almost a decade ago, it was the ability to snag awesome parking spots while with his best friend. He could see people getting upset about his SUV being in a handicapped spot and he was just fine until he reached into the back seat and pulled out the wheelchair. By the time he pulled Artie out of the front seat and put him into the chair, those that would have protested at Kurt’s spot had moved on to be bitter about other things.  
  
The friends made their way into the coffee shop where Kurt was greeted loudly by the barista, who immediately started to make his coffee order before they even got close to the counter. Kurt couldn’t help but chuckle at the girl’s enthusiasm, but considering the two teens were the only customers, he wasn’t surprised. He walked towards the counter as Artie went to secure themselves one of the nice comfy chairs around a table for them to put their cups. As he settled himself in at the table he could hear Kurt dramatically apologizing to the barista for daring to drink a Starbucks coffee when he could have had a Lima Bean coffee. He chuckled. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Kurt practically threw himself into the chair after depositing Artie’s cup on the table.  
  
“So…tell me everything that’s happened since I saw you on Saturday. And include why the hell you smell like booze.” Artie blanched and knew that he had to explain himself…quickly.  
  
XxXxX


	4. Chapter 4

Sebastian was amusing himself with browsing the New Direction’s YouTube channel, playing Kurt’s performance of “Le Jazz Hot” over and over again. He couldn’t believe that the countertenor hadn’t sent this to him. Sebastian planned on eventually getting the original of this video from Lauren and sending it to all of the top performance college programs, including Julliard, Tisch, and NYADA. He thought about UCLA as well, but considering the douche Jesse St. James had gotten into that school, he figured that Kurt didn’t deserve to put up with the former Vocal Adrenaline member.  
  
“That’s so hot,” breathed a male voice from next to Sebastian, causing the brunet to jump in his seat, looking over at David Karofsky with wide eyes.  
  
“Jesus Dave! Make some noise when you walk, will you?” He scowled at the belly laugh that was erupting from his friend. “I thought you were going to text me when you were done at practice.”  
  
Dave shrugged and leaned back in the seat, putting his feet up on the back of the chair before him. “Didn’t feel like it. I forgot how jumpy you get when you’re focusing on something. Where’s Kurt?” he asked, looking around the empty auditorium as if the guy would just pop out of the woodwork.  
  
Sebastian saved the video to his favorites before exiting the site and putting the phone away. “Dunno. I think he was going out with Artie after Glee was over. You have to drive me, Kurt and I took his car here.”  
  
Dave nodded and stood. “I need some coffee,” he said. “Coach Beiste had us here at the asscrack of dawn for practice. I swear that woman is a mutant or something; I can’t see how she coaches three sports, two of them running at the same time. I just don’t see why the hockey team gets the morning and basketball gets the afternoon,” he grumbled as they passed the gym, the sound of sneakers squeaking on the floor echoing through the space.  
  
Sebastian just smirked as he listened to his friend’s comments. He’d never admit it, but he had really missed his childhood friend over the last few years. Being a pawn in his parent’s constant struggle to one-up each other meant that he barely had time to visit Kurt over the last two summers, much less actually find out before yesterday that Kurt and Dave weren’t friends any longer. Once they got in Dave’s car, he managed to talk Dave out of going to the nearest Starbucks and instead got him to drive to the Lima Bean. Sebastian would never admit it, but he was kind of hoping to see Blaine there again and actually get to talk to him this time.  
  
As they were ordering their coffee, Sebastian’s phone buzzed and he looked down to see a new entry that he had no memory of entering pop up. _Jeff_. His eyebrow rose and he decided to answer it. “Hey man, not to be rude, but how the hell did your number get in my phone?” he asked, waving away Dave’s curious gaze and plopping down a twenty to pay for the coffee while he took the call.  
  
He could hear laughter echoing on the other side from Nick and he figured that the phone must be on speaker. _“Nick swiped it during your song with Kurt and put both our numbers in it. You may get a couple harassing calls from Wes as well, just to warn you. He saw it and demanded your number from us after the meeting was over. But that’s not why we decided to call. Nick and I were wondering if you might like…a visit to my house this weekend,”_ he offered with a suggestive tone. _“My parents will be away and Nicky has decided to come over to keep me company. We’d like to extend an invitation to you.”_  
  
Sebastian could remember what Kurt had told him the day before: _Oh, the adorable blond and the guy that’s attached to him by the lips are my closest friends other than Blaine and if they proposition you and you break either of their hearts, I will remove your testicles myself._ He had thought Kurt was being funny, but it seemed like his cousin had been telling the truth. He realized that he hadn’t answered when he heard Nick call his name. “What kind of guy, and gay, would I be to say no to such an intriguing offer? Text me the address and I will be there with bells on.”  
  
 _“Kinky,”_ snickered Jeff before saying good-bye and hanging up.  
  
Dave noticed the grin on Sebastian’s face and he turned to his friend after he got off the phone. “Who was that?”  
  
Sebastian smirked. “My date for the weekend: two absolutely _delicious_ twinks from Dalton.”  
  
Dave’s eyebrow rose. “So you’re going to Dalton then?”  
  
They received their drinks from the barista before moving over to the table that Sebastian had joined Kurt at the other day. “You know Dad won’t send me to public school. And since Kurt’s there, it’s not like I want to go anywhere else.” He shrugged. He was going to say something more when, lo and behold, his wish was answered when Blaine Anderson stepped through the door.  
  
Dave could immediately tell that Sebastian’s attention was caught by something pretty by the look in his eyes. Dave looked over his shoulder to see who it was and he immediately scowled. “Seriously, what is it with your family? He’s not _that_ good looking,” Dave grumbled.  
  
Sebastian’s eyebrow raised and he reluctantly turned from watching Blaine’s ass back to Dave. “So you finally admit what I always knew and others only guessed?”  
  
Dave blushed as he realized that he had practically admitted what he had tried so hard to keep a secret. Though he suspected that Sebastian had caught his slip in the auditorium and just hadn’t said anything. “Maybe,” he mumbled.  
  
“Does Kurt know? I assume he does because you’ve met Blaine.”  
  
Dave stared at the cup in his hand. “I kissed him,” he whispered.  
  
“Who, Blaine?” Sebastian asked, curious about this new development.  
  
Dave looked at Sebastian like he was crazy. “No! Why the fuck would you ask that? No, I kissed Kurt,” he reluctantly admitted. Obviously Kurt hadn’t told Sebastian about this because Sebastian wasn’t _that_ good of an actor to be able to fake the shock on his face. “I was pushing him around back in November and he followed me into the boy’s locker room. We argued. He always knew how to push my buttons,” he mused. “He told me to hit him and something about me being ‘extraordinarily ordinary’. I just snapped and kissed him.”  
  
“Not the first kiss I would have expected between the two of you,” Sebastian admitted. “I always imagined it to be under a full moon or some romantic thing like that which would drive Kurt crazy.”  
  
Dave stared at Sebastian. “You spend _way_ too much time imagining the love life of your cousin.”  
  
Suddenly the high, clear laugh of one Kurt Elizabeth Hummel rang throughout the coffee shop, drawing the attention of three teenage boys, who all immediately looked towards the boy. Dave scowled when he noticed the way Blaine’s face seemed to light up at the sight of Kurt. Sebastian sighed loudly when Blaine didn’t join Kurt at his table and instead hid himself in a corner.  
  
“What’s up Seb?” Dave asked, sipping his coffee. “You’re not looking too happy with hairgel there.”  
  
Sebastian snorted at Dave’s nickname for Blaine before just barely managing to tear his eyes from Blaine. “Don’t get me wrong, I would love to walk over there and bend him over the table and fuck his brains out right now. But he’s being a childish, babyish jerk to Kurt right now.” He looked over at Dave and debated for half a second on whether he should tell Dave about the party or not. “He got drunk at Rachel Berry’s party over the weekend and made out with the hostess. He then, made a date with her. And when Kurt got upset about what was essentially Blaine shoving himself _back_ into the closet, Blaine got pissed and is ignoring Kurt right now.” As it so happened, Blaine managed to feel the lack of Sebastian’s gaze on him and his eyes found Sebastian and Dave sitting there. He glared at Sebastian and Dave in turn before pointedly turning away, even if that meant facing the wall.  
  
“The fuck was that about?” Dave asked confused. “I thought he was dating Kurt? Why the hell would he kiss Rachel Berry? And what was with the glare? I know I’m probably not his favorite person right now, but why the glare at you?”  
  
Sebastian snorted at Blaine’s antics before answering. “According to Kurt, he’s just going through a ‘phase’ and will eventually realize he is as gay as the Fourth of July. And no, they’re not dating. Not for lack of wanting on Kurt’s part, apparently. But Blaine just sees him as a friend. As for the glare of Mr. Diva there, Kurt and I took over the Warbler meeting yesterday and Blaine ‘I-get-all-the-solos’ Anderson did not take it so well. So now he’s doubly pissed at Kurt and all huffy with me. Normally, I’d find that hot and try to get him into bed. But I’m not happy with his treatment of Kurt right now so I’ll be my usual charming self with Blaine. And I plan on amusing myself with Nick and Jeff this weekend. So, tell me how it felt to win the football championship…”  
  
XxXxX  
  
That following Monday, Kurt walked into Dalton while staring at his phone. His cousin was a big boy and could take care of himself, but Sebastian hadn’t left him alone for this long since returning to Ohio. It still didn’t stop him from obsessively checking his phone.  
  
Wes walked up to join Kurt in waiting by the doors. “There’s a Warbler meeting during first period,” he told the countertenor. “It’s mostly to divide up the time we will spend practicing for Regionals and for _Aida_.”  
  
Kurt smiled at Wes and rested his head on the older teen’s shoulder sleepily. “I just wish Sebastian would get here so we could grab some coffee before first period starts.”  
  
“He didn’t come with you?”  
  
“Nope. He said he was invited somewhere for the weekend, but declined to tell me where he was staying.”  
  
Before Wes could say anything more, Jeff’s Jeep pulled into his parking spot right before where Kurt and Wes were standing. Both young men’s eyebrows rose when they noticed three bodies in Jeff’s car. Jeff got out of the driver’s seat, Nick out of the passenger seat and Sebastian climbed out of the back seat. All three looked slightly rumpled and extremely satisfied with themselves.  
  
“Well _that’s_ where he was,” Kurt said deadpan. “Jeff and Nick work fast.”  
  
The cousins stared at each other, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Sebastian was staring at Kurt’s head on Wes’ shoulder and Kurt was studying Sebastian’s appearance. It was Sebastian’s first day at Dalton and his uniform was already sloppy. Kurt rolled his eyes and walked over to his cousin. “You’re ridiculous,” he huffed, pulling at Sebastian’s uniform and straightening it; including tucking the shirt in. “You couldn’t wait an entire week before seducing?”  
  
Jeff snickered at the exasperated fond look on Sebastian’s face as Kurt fixed the uniform. “To be fair, it was Nick and I that extended the invitation.”  
  
David walked up to his best friend and his eyebrow rose at the sight of Kurt fixing Sebastian’s clothes. “Is there a reason why Kurt has his hands down his cousin’s pants?” he asked in a stage whisper to Wes.  
  
Kurt rolled his eyes. “I can hear you David,” he said flatly. “I am fixing Sebastian’s clothes because his uniform was sloppy and that wasn’t going to be accepted by the teachers on his first day.”  
  
David could see the shit-eating grins on the faces of Sebastian, Jeff, and Nick and could guess what had happened over the weekend to cause such looks. He decided discretion was the better part of valor and just left it alone. “Warbler meeting during first period. We’ve all been signed out of our classes, including you Sebastian. Wes, Thad, and I took the song you sang with Kurt last week as your audition, because we technically couldn’t accept another member without an audition.”  
  
Sebastian looked confused. “Who got in without an audition?” The other Warblers looked at Kurt, who blushed slightly. “Really?”  
  
Kurt nodded. “Apparently Blaine vouched for me or something like that, because I wasn’t asked to audition. I don’t think any of them heard me sing until the try out for a solo at Sectionals.”  
  
Wes and David exchanged glances, remembering Blaine’s excited chatter about the countertenor, and the fifty videos on the New Direction’s YouTube channel that their friend had forced them to watch. They decided to not mention that since the Kurt they knew would not be happy to know that Blaine had spent three weeks babbling about him and showing his videos, including his Cheerio ones, to nearly the entire Dalton student body.  
  
The two council members didn’t see that Nick had caught that look and he was also remembering Blaine’s near obsession with Kurt before the junior transferred. Jeff, however, didn’t notice a thing and happily spoke up. “Blaine is really good at spotting talent, even when the person doesn’t know they have it. It’s what happened with me, Trent, and a couple other Warblers. He picked us out and made us audition.”  
  
The bell rang before anyone else could speak. Kurt finished with his tidying up of Sebastian’s uniform and grabbed Jeff’s arm, walking into the school with the other four following them.  
  
XxXxX  
  
Blaine felt discombobulated as he watched the boy who was undoubtedly his best friend walk into the Warbler common room on the arm of Jeff Riker. He missed Kurt so much that it ached. However, he also knew that he had an anger problem and it would take longer than he wished for him to stop being angry at Kurt. Seeing Kurt sitting so comfortably with Artie the week before had driven home the fact that while Kurt was his best friend, he wasn’t Kurt’s. That honor belonged to Artie and Mercedes. As well as a boy from Kurt’s past that he refused to talk about but Blaine only knew existed because of the picture of three kids in Power Rangers costumes. Kurt kept a framed picture of six kids in the costumes in his locker, but the picture of the three he carried with him at all times in his wallet.  
  
Blaine had asked once who the other two were, having recognized Kurt instantly. Kurt had only pointed out Sebastian and had avoided telling Blaine who the boy in the Green Ranger costume was. Blaine _knew_ he had seen the boy before, he just couldn’t place him.  
  
When Sebastian followed Kurt into the common room, Blaine couldn’t keep his eyes away from the sexy teen. Sebastian fascinated Blaine in a way that he wished Kurt did. Blaine had a feeling that Kurt would be less likely to break his heart than Sebastian, but Blaine just didn’t feel like that for Kurt. Blaine could feel his face flush brightly when Sebastian sent a sexy smirk in his direction. He could also feel his mouth drop into a frown when he saw Sebastian pinch Nick’s ass as the dark haired Warbler moved over to the love seat where Kurt and Jeff were sitting, squeezing himself onto the couch next to his boyfriend, wrapping an arm around the blond comfortably.  
  
“Hey sexy,” Sebastian’s voice came from next to Blaine, startling the curly haired boy. Blaine’s brain stuttered as Sebastian sat next to him on the couch. “Look, I get why you’re pissed at Kurt. But this shit needs to stop. So he got pissy about you kissing a girl, so fucking what? You’re his friend. He’s already had too many friends leave him behind, he doesn’t need it from you also Anderson,” he hissed.  
  
Blaine was about to open his mouth to protest that Kurt has plenty of friends when he suddenly realized that that must be what happened to the boy in the picture. He decided to move onto a different subject. “Why were you at the Lima Bean with Karofsky?”  
  
Sebastian’s gaze sharpened. “Though it’s none of your business, he’s an old friend that I haven’t seen in years. We were catching up.”  
  
Suddenly the boy in the picture’s identity formed in Blaine’s mind. He added ten years and about a hundred pounds to the kid and Blaine finally figured out why he looked familiar. The Green Ranger was Dave Karofsky. He blinked rapidly before turning to Sebastian. “Karofsky was friends with Kurt?” he demanded. “Why was he pushing him around then?”  
  
Sebastian blinked in shock at the anger and rapidly fired questions from Blaine. “That’s between Dave and Kurt,” he said simply and hypocritically since he had planned to get those exact answers from his friend the week before. In fact, he still needed those answers since the interruption of Kurt’s laugh that day meant that Dave had kept one eye on the teen the rest of the time they were at the Lima Bean.  
  
The banging of a gavel brought everyone’s attention to the council table, where Wes, Thad, and David sat. “Good morning Warblers,” Wes greeted from his spot in the middle of the table. “Before we join with the Drama club to discuss the scheduling of practices for the spring musical, we have Warbler business to take care of. We would like to take this moment to welcome a new Warbler. Warbler Sebastian,” he said, indicating that Sebastian should stand, who did so. “Per Warbler tradition, Warbler Sebastian will be presented with a Warbler of his own.” Flint walked into the side room to retrieve a chirping canary in a cage. “Sebastian, meet Domingo, named after the famous tenor Plácido Domingo.”  
  
Kurt giggled. “Do you guys have a thing for The Three Tenors or something?” Seeing Sebastian’s confused look, he elaborated. “My canary is named Pavarotti.”  
  
Wes waited for Sebastian’s chuckles to die down before turning back to the Warblers. “Are there any Warbler matters that must be taken care of before the meeting this afternoon? No? Alright then, let’s adjourn to the theatre to meet with the Drama club.”  
  
The club got up and made their way down the halls towards the theatre. Nick and Jeff were clinging to Kurt like limpets as they walked, Jeff talking about how fun it will be to be the assistant director, with the Drama club agreeing to give a Warbler that role to increase cooperation between the clubs. It helped, though, that Jeff was in the Drama club and thus would be trusted to do the job well.  
  
Sebastian, as a new student as well as a new Warbler, was given a simple job as stage crew because he just couldn’t be expected to catch up on schoolwork, Warbler routines, and learn lines and songs for a character at the same time.  
  
After Wes and the president of the Drama club compared dates for competition for the Warblers and when the performances of _Aida_ would be. Thankfully, there was enough give between Nationals, should the Warblers make it, and the performances of Aida that they weren’t required to keep understudies of the roles that Warblers held. From there, rehearsal schedules for each club was figured out and emailed to the cast and crew. “If there are any changes, we will email you the updates. Please check your email regularly.” After he finished speaking, Wes nodded to the Warblers so they could return to the Warbler common room to retrieve their bags.  
  
XxXxX  
  
At the afternoon Warbler meeting, Sebastian was surrounded by three Warblers who apparently heard about his prowess from Nick and Jeff during classes and they were eager to try out the new Warbler.  
  
Kurt was rolling his eyes at the sight as he filed his nails while talking with Trent, who was eying Sebastian curiously. “If you want him, just ask him out. He’d appreciate that. See how he’s reacting to them? He likes being chased.”  
  
Trent nodded as he absorbed the information that Kurt was telling him. After a moment, he seemed to steel himself before standing and moving over to Sebastian, pushing past the three Warblers. “Sebastian, would you go out with me tonight? If you’re not up for a relationship, that’s cool. I’m up for whatever.”  
  
Sebastian eyed the slightly chubby Warbler with interest. He normally wasn’t one for heavy-ish guys, but he did like the fact that the guy was willing to just come out and ask instead of beating around the bush like the others were. “Sure, but you’re paying,” he said with a smirk.  
  
Kurt rolled his eyes. Sebastian could afford to fly him and his date out to Paris for a romantic dinner, but he always made the guy pay for dinner. Kurt was convinced that he just wanted to see what places someone would take him in order to try and impress him.  
  
Blaine watched the interaction with barely concealed jealousy. He had watched as Kurt gave Trent advice that led to Trent asking Sebastian out. He thought back to what Sebastian had said about Kurt having been abandoned by friends before and he definitely did _not_ want to be associated with the likes of Dave Karofsky. So he got up and walked over to the couch Kurt was sitting on and sat next to his best friend. “Can I talk to you?”  
  
Kurt stiffened, glancing sideways at Blaine. “So talk,” he said quietly.  
  
Blaine sighed. “I’m sorry,” he said bluntly. “I’m sorry I compared you to Karofsky and got so angry at you. But you have to know you were in the wrong too. You’re just lucky Jeff wasn’t there to hear what you said.”  
  
Kurt studiously looked at his nails. “I know. I know I overreacted. It wasn’t you, per say. It was who you chose to make out with.”  
  
Blaine winced. “Yeah, Rachel wasn’t exactly the best choice. And not just because she obviously has the tendency to get obsessed, but because you told me about your rivalry with her. In my defense, I was drunk.”  
  
Kurt sighed. “I know you were drunk. That doesn’t excuse your actions, but it does explain them. What do you say about getting coffee after the meeting?” He knew the two of them would have to get back into familiar routines if they had any chance of repairing their friendship.  
  
XxXxX  
  
One impromptu meeting with Sue Sylvester later, Kurt and Blaine were sitting in the Lima Bean, contemplating what she had revealed. Kurt sipped the coffee before speaking up. “Any other day, I’d be suspicious of Sue coming here to ‘team’ up with the Warblers; she has a history of trying to destroy New Directions.”  
  
Blaine looked at Kurt. “So why aren’t you suspicious today?”  
  
“Oh I’m still suspicious; I just get the feeling that Aunt Sue travelled all the way here to see me.”  
  
“Aunt Sue?” Blaine asked, looking vaguely terrified at the prospect.  
  
Kurt looked at Blaine in amusement. He wasn’t unaware of how Sue’s presence made others feel. He decided to not explain just why Kurt called her Aunt and head home instead. “You’ve survived your first encounter with the Dragon Lady. Rejoice, Blaine,” he said, leaning over to kiss his friend on the cheek before leaving the coffee shop.  
  
On the way home, he noticed a familiar truck sitting in the parking lot of the Westerville mall and he pulled into the parking lot and parked next to the truck. He locked his Navigator and made his way towards the Macy’s. Once he was inside, he immediately wandered over to the men’s section, looking for the familiar head of gray hair. He smiled when he spotted the man he was looking for and walked over to where the man was sorting through Polo shirts. “Please tell me you’re weaning him off of those Uncle Paul.”  
  
Paul Karofsky looked up at the sound of Kurt’s voice and smiled widely. “Kurt!” Paul said happily, walking over to the teen and hugging him. “Please help me pick something out for Dave. He needs some more shirts as well as some dress shirts for church.”  
  
Kurt nodded and immediately moved away from the polo shirts. “You do not need to feed his reliance on those awful shirts, Uncle Paul. Though I know he would _never_ wear some of the more fashionable choices I would like to see on him, there is no reason to resort to those!”  
  
The two looked through racks of shirts for a few minutes before Kurt spoke up. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that Dave was pushing me around,” he said quietly. He knew that part of the reason that his father had been so upset was that he felt that Paul wasn’t keeping a proper eye on Dave. “I’m sorry Dad blamed you too. I know you two were close when Dave and I were younger.”  
  
Paul waved that away. “Burt called me after the meeting and apologized. I knew he was just upset to hear that Dave was bullying you. He always hoped that Dave would protect you if needed, not be the one you needed protection from.”  
  
The two worked in near silence for over an hour, picking out a half a dozen dress shirts, some properly fitted dress slacks to go with the shirts, as well as a dozen fun t-shirts for the other teen. After they picked out the last of the dress clothes at the Macy’s, Kurt talked Paul into trying on some new suits that Kurt insisted would look great on the man. Paul, knowing better than to argue with Kurt on the subject of fashion, just agreed and eventually bought one of the five suits that Kurt made him try on.  
  
As they were passing the Hot Topic on the way to the food court, Kurt spotted a shirt that made him stop in his tracks. Displayed in the window was a shirt with a [mathematical irrational number](http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/zoom/phi.jpg) on it. Kurt knew that Dave was excellent at math, so the shirt just jumped out at him.  
  
“You do know that Dave is going to know you picked this one out don’t you,” Paul said, walking up to where Kurt was stopped, studying one of the dress shirts with a paisley pattern on it. He then pulled a bow tie out of the bag. “I still don’t know how you talked me into getting this. He’s _definitely_ going to know you picked it out.”  
  
Kurt smirked. “That was kind of the point Uncle Paul. It’s in retaliation for my Christmas present.” He couldn’t help the shudder that came over him as he remembered the used, signed Cleveland Browns jersey that Dave had given him. In fact, his father and Finn had gotten more enjoyment from it than Kurt had. They framed the jersey and it currently hung in the family room. Kurt eyed the garish St. Patrick’s Day themed bowtie. It was probably the most obnoxiously patterned bowtie that he had ever seen, with fat little leprechauns riding rainbows with pots of gold at the end of the rainbow. He smirked, knowing he was probably going to get something even worse than the bowtie in May for his birthday. He looked back at the shirt and made a decision. He walked confidently into the store and pulled a one of the math shirts off the shelf in Dave’s size before buying it. “Include this with the others please Uncle Paul.”  
  
Paul smiled and clapped Kurt on the shoulder before walking towards the food court again. Not that he ever thought that Kurt would actually eat at one of the restaurants within the food court, but they were headed for the Red Robin that sat just outside the food court.  
  
Later that night, Kurt received a text message from Dave that read _You’re a bastard. You know that, right?_  
  
Kurt just smirked and replied _That’s for the jersey David._  
  
XxXxX  
  
The following afternoon found the Warblers at an abandoned warehouse that Wes, David, and a couple other guys had rigged up for the performance planned by Blaine. As a gesture of good faith, he offered to share the solo parts with Kurt.  
  
Kurt watched as a majority of the Warblers tried to smolder at the Crawford girls, including Nick and Jeff who Kurt suspected were just doing it for the ‘lulz’. Kurt noticed that several of the girls were sneaking appreciative looks at Blaine and Sebastian. He, however, missed the looks that were aimed at Kurt himself.  
  
After they finished the performance of “Animal”, Kurt watched with amusement as the Crawford girls swarmed the Warblers while Kurt cleaned bubbles out of his hair. Sebastian moved over to where his cousin sat on the structure as he combed the bubbles out of his hair.  
  
They could hear two girls talking to Blaine a little way away. “Call us.”  
  
“Sweet, but not your team.”  
  
Sebastian snorted at the disappointed look on the girl’s faces, especially since they obviously turned to try other Dalton boys only to see Jeff and Nick making out not too far away.  
  
Blaine walked over to the cousins and threw a small smile at Sebastian before turning to Kurt. “Are you okay? You kept making these weird faces the whole song.”  
  
Sebastian snorted again; he didn’t know _anyone_ that did that while singing.  
  
“Those weren’t weird faces. Those were my sexy faces,” Kurt said seriously.  
  
“It just looked like you were having gas pains or something.”  
  
Kurt looked offended. “Great,” he said, starting to put the tiny comb back in his bag. “How are we supposed to get up on the stage at Regionals and sell sexy to the judges when I have as much sex appeal and knowledge as a baby penguin.”  
  
Sebastian looked between the two of them like they were crazy. “Uh excuse me, I may just be the biased cousin here, but I can guarantee that _several_ people find Kurt sexy. Like, for example, at least a third of those giggling girls over there. And,” he said, cutting off the protest he knew was coming from Kurt, “a dozen guys at school have asked me to put in a good word with you so you might consider going out with them. Not to mention this,” he said pulling up the video of Kurt he was looking at the week before, “caused a not so subtle, and I quote, ‘that’s so hot’ to be uttered by our favorite warthog last week.”  
  
Kurt blushed brightly at both the video and the knowledge that David had called it hot.  
  
Blaine just looked between the two, confused. _Warthog?_ he thought. However, before he could speak, they were interrupted by Wes.  
  
“Come on guys, we have to get back to Dalton. _Aida_ rehearsal.”  
  
XxXxX


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1st Youtube link: http://youtu.be/SR6iYWJxHqs  
> 2nd Youtube link: http://youtu.be/0QzELYfkgaY
> 
> Once again they're also included in the first lines of each song.

The next day’s Warbler rehearsal was the day marked for final Regionals set list determination. They had been rehearsing the possibilities for weeks, now they just had to decide what songs they would sing and who got the solos.  
  
“So it’s decided,” Wes said, looking over one of the papers in front of him. “Blaine will sing the lead for our closing number: “Raise Your Glass”. Our second number will be Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” with Nick and Jeff singing lead.” He shifted the papers before speaking again. “We just need an opening number.”  
  
Kurt’s hand shot up. “In New Directions, there would usually be a single solo song, usually sung by Rachel. However, I think, since the theme of the Regionals is ‘anthem’, I think I have the perfect song.” He pulled out his laptop and played the YouTube video that was already cued up. He was happy to notice that all of the council members looked pleased with the song the longer it played. When he finished, he calmly put the laptop back into his bag and sat back on the couch.  
  
Wes thought that it was just about perfect. “If I may ask, where did you discover that?”  
  
Kurt smiled. “Ever since Chuck Criss did that Harry Potter musical a couple years ago, I’ve been a fan of him and his group. He wrote the music for an original musical, which that song is a part of. I prefer that arrangement from when his group was performing it live, the original was for one person. I like the four person arrangement better. And if you want, the group has provided sheet music for the songs for the fans.”  
  
The council conferred with each other for a few minutes before turning back to the club. “Warbler Kurt, we accept your proposal for the first song for our Regional’s setlist. As such, we would like for you to sing one of the solos. There will be auditions for the other three solo parts later this week. Kurt, if you could retrieve that sheet music you mentioned, it would be appreciated,” Thad said, smiling at the countertenor.  
  
XxXxX  
  
That night, Kurt was relaxing after an afternoon of tailoring the new clothes that he bought for himself after the bout of shopping with his Uncle Paul. Normally, Kurt would be interrogating Sebastian on the date he had after school, but since Sebastian was casually seeing Trent, Kurt didn’t want to jinx it. He wandered downstairs for a drink after a couple hours and was surprised by a stack of pamphlets being dropped on the island. “What are those?”  
  
“Those are some pamphlets I picked up from the free clinic, I thought it might help the process along because it is time you and I had the talk.” But stood across from Kurt, practically blocking his son from leaving the kitchen.  
  
“No it’s not,” Kurt protested.  
  
“Yes it is.”  
  
“No Dad, really it’s not. Sebastian already gave it to me last year. He had the class earlier in the school year and he Skype’d me during the class so I could sit in. The French class covered a lot more than the McKinley one did, at least according to Finn, who thought you could get AIDS from cucumbers.” Kurt rolled his eyes at his brother.  
  
Burt sat at the table, deflated. “Oh. Why didn’t you tell me this before? I got myself all psyched up to give you the talk. Especially once Blaine talked to me about it.”  
  
Kurt stopped in his tracks, his glass of water halfway to his mouth. “Wait, what? Blaine did what?”  
  
Burt looked at his son and realized that Kurt had no idea that Blaine had come to see him. “Blaine showed up at the shop yesterday and asked if I had given you the sex talk. He said that you refused to talk about sex.”  
  
Kurt rolled his eyes. “He ambushed me after a performance about the faces that I was making while trying to be sexy and he told me that they looked like I was gassy. After that comment, I kind of shut him out and refused to talk to him about it further. Apparently, he took that as me not knowing anything about sex.” He huffed in annoyance. “Don’t worry Dad; I’ll talk to him about it tomorrow. I have to get back to my sewing.” He kissed his dad on the top of his head before making his way back upstairs, muttering to himself in French. When he reached his room, he grabbed his phone, sending off a quick text to two individuals.  
  
 _You’ll provide an alibi for me if I end up killing Blaine, right?_  
  
Sebastian just sent back a question mark, more than Kurt expected since he was certain that he was busy with Trent at the moment.  
  
Dave, however, surprised him with the reply. _What the fuck did Hairgel do to warrant you needing an alibi?_  
  
Kurt snickered at the nickname. _He just somehow convinced Dad to give me the sex talk. Dad had no idea that Sebastian had forced me through Skype to sit in on his class in France._  
  
 _It’d be justifiable homicide, right Simba? Just tell the cops that a nosy little hobbit forced your manly man dad to give you the gay sex talk._  
  
Kurt snickered again, just sending back a smiley face in response. He couldn’t even be upset that Dave had called Blaine a hobbit; Dave had used his childhood nickname. He could feel his cheeks hurting from the grin that was splitting his face.  
  
XxXxX  
  
That Friday’s Warbler meeting featured the solo auditions. The council table was filled as normal while all the Warblers bunched around the room waiting for the first audition. However, one thing was different; Kurt sat at the council table instead of Wes, who was one of those auditioning.   
  
Kurt enjoyed sitting at the head table as he watched others sing. Even though he was annoyed with Blaine at the moment, he enjoyed listening to him sing “Misery” with the rest of the Warblers doing background vocals.  
  
Apparently Wes and Sebastian had practiced with the other Warblers also because Wes sung a lovely rendition of “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. And Sebastian wowed the judges with his version of “My Own Worst Enemy” by Lit. Both songs had the other Warblers providing the background instruments and any background vocals the songs needed.  
  
After a quick discussion between the three of them, the two council members officially gave out the solo parts. Kurt was just there as an insurance that they could break any ties between David and Thad. It was official; the other three solo parts in the song went to Wes, Blaine, and Sebastian. Jeff and Nick hadn’t even bothered auditioning, they were shocked as it was that they got to sing lead on “Grenade”, they didn’t want to seem greedy by auditioning for another song as well.  
  
After the meeting was over, Sebastian left the room with Trent under his arm, Blaine following after Sebastian like a kicked puppy. Kurt kind of enjoyed seeing the other teen acting like Kurt had for so many months since meeting Blaine. It felt like karma came around and kicked Blaine in the teeth. Kurt knew it was cruel to think like that, but he was a bitch and he owned it.  
  
XxXxX  
  
The following week had Kurt so busy with alternating rehearsals between Regionals and _Aida_. He barely had time to eat and sleep at night because he spent so much time practicing. To protect the set list, he only practiced for _Aida_ at home so Finn couldn’t overhear and inadvertently reveal something to Rachel.  
  
He had even stayed at Dalton the last three days before Regionals to ensure that he had plenty of time to practice his parts. He also wanted to ensure that he had his instrument parts for the other two songs down so he didn’t mess up the other songs.  
  
The one thing he made sure not to neglect during that time was Pavarotti. He adored that bird and would never leave him in the care of his brother or father. The two could probably be trusted to take care of a dog, but a delicate bird that had always been in the hands of spoiled prep school boys? Not a chance. He could probably trust Carole; but she worked while his dad and Finn were home, so Kurt couldn’t trust the two males in his life to not try and handle the canary. Especially since he had already caught Finn trying to pet the bird the week he got Pavarotti.  
  
The morning before Regionals, Kurt was doing his moisturizing routine in Sebastian’s dorm room, whistling a tune to Pavarotti and Domingo and listening to them chirp in response. However, he heard a dull thud and he looked over in concern. “Pavarotti?”  
  
XxXxX  
  
Dave rolled over in bed as he slowly became aware of a pounding noise. He grumbled under his breath, he had been up all night with food poisoning and had just barely gotten to sleep two hours before. His father had wanted to stay with him, but as Dave had said, it had been his decision to eat from the food truck and his dad shouldn’t miss a day of work because of his foolishness. So Dave knew no one was going to answer the door if he didn’t get his ass up and do it himself.  
  
He slowly climbed out of bed and shuffled down the stairs like a zombie. His head pounded from the lack of sleep and slowly walked to the door. “’m coming,” he grumbled. He reluctantly opened the door and got an armful of crying Kurt Hummel. “Kurt? The fuck you doing here?” he mumbled, closing the door. He shuffled towards the living room, holding onto Kurt the entire time. He collapsed onto the couch, pulling Kurt close enough to be half on his lap.  
  
Kurt’s crying wound down after around ten minutes and eventually he realized that his face was pressed against a bare shoulder. It had been a long time since he had seen Dave shirtless. He, guiltily, took a few minutes to study the well defined chest in front of his eyes.  
  
“You okay?”  
  
Kurt sniffed. “Remember when your dog ran away when we were ten and you told me I could always come to you if something happened to a pet?”  
  
“’course.”  
  
“My pet canary died this morning,” Kurt whispered. Dave’s arm tightened around Kurt.  
  
“Shit Kurt, I’m sorry. Was he old?” Dave didn’t remember Kurt having a canary, but it had been long enough since they hung out that the bird could have gotten old and died of natural causes.  
  
Kurt shrugged. “I don’t know how old he was when he was given to me. I got him when I started Dalton. Part of becoming a Warbler, the glee club,” he explained, “includes caring for a canary.”  
  
Dave rolled his eyes at the antics of private school boys and just hugged his old friend. He frowned when he considered something. “How did you know I’d be here?”  
  
Kurt shrugged. “I texted Artie and he told me you were out of school.” He hugged Dave tightly. “I have to be at Dalton later for Warbler practice, we have Regionals tomorrow. But I just needed _this_ ,” he said, tightening his hug, “before I have to make that drive and deal with them.”  
  
Dave didn’t say anything more and just tightened his arms around Kurt. If Kurt wanted a hug, then Dave would hug him as long as he wished.  
  
XxXxX  
  
Sebastian was looking around the Warbler common room, slightly worried that the meeting had started without Kurt. Blaine and the others were currently discussing something, with Trent calling the meeting a ‘Kangaroo court’, but Sebastian wasn’t paying any attention to what they were arguing about.  
  
Suddenly the doors to the room burst open and Kurt strode through them, out of uniform and wearing all black. His eyes were swollen and red.  
  
“Kurt, what’s wrong?” Blaine asked, still standing. Jeff, Nick, and Sebastian had also jumped to their feet when Kurt appeared.  
  
“It’s Pavarotti. Pavarotti’s dead. I suspect a stroke.”  
  
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” Blaine wanted to just walk over to his best friend and hug him tightly.  
  
Kurt sounded choked up. “I know it’s really stupid to be upset about a bird. But he inspired me with his optimism and his love of song. He was my friend. And he was my first pet.” He didn’t mention that losing Pavarotti made him feel slightly like a failure. “I know we’re practicing doowopping behind Blaine during “Raise Your Glass” today, but I would like to sing a song for Pavarotti today.” He pulled a cassette tape out of his pocket and handed it to one of the Warblers, who obligingly put it in the 50’s styled player that was near the chessboard in the back of the common room. However, before Kurt could start singing, someone came in from the doors behind him.  
  
“Geez Kurt, how many hallways does Hogwarts have? I had to get directions three times!”  
  
Blaine stared in shock at Dave Karofsky, clad in his distinctive McKinley Letterman jacket. He wanted to protest the gorilla’s right to be there but he stopped himself when he saw the slight smile on Kurt’s face at his appearance. If Kurt wanted him there, then Blaine would leave his objection on the table.  
  
Sebastian smirked at the sight of Dave and he waved his old friend over to the couch he had been sitting on. He saw the visitor’s badge hanging from the lapel of the jacket and smothered a laugh. Visitors to Dalton had to jump through so many hoops it wasn’t funny, the only thing that they didn’t have to provide was a blood sample, and Sebastian thought that was going to come eventually. He quietly introduced Nick and Jeff to Dave before pushing the jock so that he was sitting on the couch.  
  
The Warbler that had taken the tape pushed play on the player. As Kurt sang “Blackbird”, Blaine couldn’t help but keep sneaking looks at Dave, who was staring at Kurt with an obvious look of awe, love, and lust on his face. He also couldn’t help but look at Sebastian, seeing the way that the taller teen was smirking at the look on Dave’s face. Blaine ended up spending the rest of the song staring intensely at Sebastian. Seeing the look on Dave’s face had spurred him into action. He wouldn’t stand aside any longer in regards to Sebastian.  
  
When Kurt was finished with the song, he was pulled into an epic hug by Sebastian, Dave, Jeff, and Nick. They all collapsed onto the couch and comforted Kurt. Wes got up from behind the council desk and walked over to the group hug and threw himself on top of the pile. “Warbler pile!” he cried, causing the rest of the Warblers to leap towards them. He got his goal when Kurt started laughing loudly when fifteen boys added their weight to the couch, causing it to fall backwards.  
  
The entire group started laughing loudly when Dave, who was on the bottom of the Warbler pile, grunted out “McKinley or not, glee club is still full of crazy people.”  
  
XxXxX  
  
Dave sat in the audience of the Regionals competition, near where the Warblers would sit when not performing. He could see Coach Sylvester sitting not too far away and he wondered why she was there. He felt a little conspicuous sitting next to nearly two dozen empty seats. He was glad that he wasn’t wearing his letterman when the McKinley club walked past him on their way to their seats. He couldn’t help the facepalm when the first team had sung “Jesus is a friend of mine”. He may not know much about music, but even he knew that was just blatant pandering to the Tea Party extreme right-wing judge. And perhaps the nun also, but considering she used to be a stripper, probably not.  
  
When the curtain opened to reveal the Dalton Academy Warblers, Dave sat up straight. The two guys that Dave remembered as Nick and Jeff stood in front of the others as they began the background vocals. The four Warblers that were to provide the background vocals instead of instruments, stood directly behind Jeff and Nick, Kurt one of the four.  
  
Jeff and Nick stepped forward as the four began the opening note. Nick would start the song.  
  
[ _Easy come, easy go, that’s just how you live_](http://youtu.be/SR6iYWJxHqs) _  
  
Oh take, take, take it all but you never give  
  
Should’ve known you was trouble from the first kiss_  
  
Jeff was going to start singing during the second half of the next line. All the instruments kicked in at the second line, with Flint starting the beatboxing.  
  
 _Had your eyes wide open, why were they open?  
  
Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash  
  
You tossed it in the trash, you did_  
  
Both of them sang the next verse.  
  
 _To give me all your love is all I ever asked  
  
‘Cause what you don’t understand  
  
Is I’d catch a grenade for ya  
  
Throw my hand on the blade for ya  
  
I’d jump in front of a train for ya  
  
You know I’d do anything for ya_  
  
Nick took the next verse, staring straight at Jeff as he sang. He let all the love he felt for his boyfriend show in his eyes as he looked at the blond.  
  
 _See I would go through all this pain  
  
Take a bullet straight through my brain  
  
Yes I would die for ya, baby  
  
But you won’t do the same_  
  
Jeff took over the next verse, looking back at Nick with the same amount of love he felt for his boyfriend as Nick had looked at him.  
  
 _Black, black, black and blue  
  
Beat me till I’m numb, tell the devil I said hey  
  
When you get back to where you’re from_  
  
Both of them sang the next verse, alternating lines. Both sang the last bit.  
  
 _Bad women, bad women, that’s just what you are, yeah  
  
You smile in my face then rip the breaks out my car  
  
Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash  
  
You tossed it in the trash, yes you did_  
  
Both sang the verse preceding the chorus and the chorus.  
  
 _To give me all your love  
  
Is all I ever asked but what you don’t understand  
  
Is I’d catch a grenade for ya  
  
Throw my hand on the blade for ya  
  
I’d jump in front of a train for ya  
  
You know I’d do anything for ya_  
  
They alternated the next lines and then sang the chorus, moving back to their starting positions when they were finished.  
  
 _Listen babe, I would go through all this pain  
  
Take a bullet straight through my brain  
  
Yes I would die for ya, baby  
  
But you won’t do the same  
  
If my body was on fire, ooh  
  
You would watch me burn down in flames  
  
You said you loved me, you’re a liar  
  
‘Cause you never ever, ever did, baby  
  
But darling, I’d still catch a grenade for ya  
  
Throw my hand on a blade for ya  
  
I’d jump in front of a train for ya  
  
You know I’d do anything for ya  
  
Ooh, I would go through all this pain  
  
Take a bullet straight through my brain  
  
Yes I would die for ya, baby  
  
But you won’t do the same  
  
No you won’t do the same  
  
You wouldn’t do the same  
  
Ooh, you’d never do the same_  
  
When they finished the song, the Warblers put their heads down as the lights went out over them. They took the time to reorganize their positions for the next song. Kurt, Sebastian, Blaine, and Wes stepped forward as the others started the instrument parts.  
  
Kurt started off the song.  
  
[ _It starts with not questioning the answers_](http://youtu.be/0QzELYfkgaY) _  
  
And giving up before you've begun_  
  
Sebastian took up the next couple lines.  
  
 _It locks all the doors  
  
Increases the pressure  
  
And in a flash  
  
Your time is up before it's done_  
  
Wes took up the solo part after Sebastian.  
  
 _And you won't know how it can feel  
  
To feel at all_  
  
Blaine stepped forward for his solo.  
  
 _So I say no to status quo  
  
Who wants to be like the rest  
  
And deny the best that I'm meant for_  
  
All four boys sung the next verse.  
  
 _I will show the status quo  
  
Who cares about normal  
  
I'll never conform  
  
I will be content to resent the status quo_  
  
Kurt stepped forward again and belted out his next lines, high-kicking as he sang the word.  
  
 _I'll kick down the walls around me  
  
They don't know how strong I am_  
  
All of the boys sang together again.  
  
 _I'm not defined by boundaries  
  
They could never understand_  
  
Blaine sung again.  
  
 _I'm so much more_  
  
The four sang again.  
  
 _Than status quo_  
  
Blaine sang the next line.  
  
 _Forget about being another pipe dreamer  
  
Stuck on the bottom floor_  
  
The four finished out the song together.  
  
 _And I know  
  
It's time to go  
  
So maybe I've gotten everything that I wanted  
  
But I think that I might have made it so  
  
When I said no, no, no   
  
To status quo_  
  
The four repeated the last two lines once more, finishing the song.  
  
They then hurried into their places for “Raise Your Glass”, ready for Blaine to sing his big solo.  
  
XxXxX  
  
Dave hugged Kurt and Sebastian tightly as they reached their seats. He whispered praise for their songs as they settled into their places, Kurt in between Sebastian and Dave.  
  
When the music for the New Direction’s first song started, Dave was distracted by Kurt’s hand on his arm. A few lines into the song, he heard Kurt gasp.  
  
“My God. They’re doing original songs.”  
  
Dave couldn’t help but feel an emotional connection with the lyrics of the song Rachel was singing. He felt like the song was speaking directly to him. He applauded loudly when the song was finished.  
  
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Rachel announced, “we’re the New Directions.”  
  
The song that followed was peppy, up-beat, a blatant take-that to anyone that had bullied the club, and catchy as hell. A few lines in, Kurt had discovered some foam fingers under his seat and he started tossing them around the audience before standing and cheering for his friends.  
  
Dave stood and joined the Warblers in cheering for the McKinley group. However when the lines: “Push me up against a locker. And hey, all I do is shake it off. I’ll get you back when I’m your boss.” was sung by Finn, he sat back down in shock. Kurt wasn’t a part of their club anymore, but they still put in a line for him in the song.  
  
Kurt looked down at a sitting Dave and patted him on the shoulder. He leaned over to whisper in his ear. “I forgive you Dave.” He felt his breath catch when Dave grinned at him, unashamedly. Their gazes caught and held.  
  
Before they were able to tear themselves away from each other, the song ended. They were interrupted by the roar of the standing ovation from the audience as well as the elbow that Sebastian nudged Kurt with.  
  
With all three acts finished, the clubs were required to go backstage while the judges discussed the winner. That left Dave sitting by himself again, but this time he didn’t mind. He was still kind of lost in the fact that Kurt had forgiven him.  
  
The judges had finished conferring quicker than Dave had expected, the three clubs stood on the stage, waiting for the announcement of the winner. Dave wasn’t really paying attention to what the woman on stage was saying until he heard “New Directions!” He clapped but was sad that the Warblers had lost. He noticed that none of the Warblers looked mad, sad and upset sure, but not angry at the loss. He could see Kurt looking into the audience and he waved a bit at his friend, who smiled sadly at him.  
  
XxXxX  
  
After the loss at Regionals, rehearsal for _Aida_ began in earnest. Now that the Warblers didn’t have to worry about practicing for a competition, those with parts in the musical could focus on their parts.  
  
However, the day after Regionals found Kurt hoarding three Lima Bean tables with all his supplies for decorating Pavarotti’s casket. Normally he would work on this at Dalton, but Dave had wanted to hang out with him and didn’t want to have to jump through the hoops to get a visitor’s pass again. So Dave was supposedly using one of the tables, while Sebastian and Blaine were technically using one of the others. It didn’t fool any of the baristas, but Kurt, Blaine, and Sebastian were well liked enough by the staff that they didn’t protest about Kurt taking up three tables on their busiest day of the week. It helped that when Dave had been getting more coffee, he had confided that Kurt was working on the coffin for his dead bird that had died only two days before.  
  
A few days later, Kurt got a text from Rachel about the New Directions having something called a ‘Night of Neglect’ to raise funds for Nationals. And then he got one from Artie about them also raising funds for the Brainiacs to go to Detroit for their finals. Kurt replied to both texts that he would be there.  
  
He then convinced all of the Warblers to come and bring any friends from other clubs that could make it. By the night of the benefit, all of the Warblers, their families, the entire Drama club and _their_ families, as well as the French and German club members were planning on coming. Kurt almost felt bad about Dalton invading a McKinley benefit, but once he heard that all of the Twitter followers that Sunshine had promised backed out, Kurt felt glad that at least _someone_ would be there.  
  
Dave slipped into the auditorium right before the benefit started. He knew that Kurt was going to save him a seat. He was happy to see that people were there, even if Dave only recognized a handful of them. “Hey dude,” he whispered to Kurt. “I assume that you know the crowd of people that I know for sure don’t go here.”  
  
Kurt nodded. “Most of them are students at Dalton and their families.” Dave nodded and put his arm on the back of Kurt’s chair.  
  
When Tina was being booed, Dave frowned when he noticed that one of the people doing it was Azimio. He reached into his letterman and pulled out an eraser nub and tossed it at the back of Azimio’s head. He then pulled out his phone and sent a text. _Knock it off asshole._ He was happy to see that Az stopped the booing after the text. Though he did notice that Azimio kept looking over his shoulder at Dave, eying the arm around Kurt. Dave nudged Kurt and whispered Becky’s name.  
  
Kurt’s eyes narrowed and he pulled out his own phone. He texted something to Becky, who looked over her shoulder for Kurt. She got up and walked up the stairs to where Kurt was sitting.   
  
“I’m sorry Kurty,” she said quietly.  
  
Kurt pulled her in for a hug. He had a large soft spot for the girl and he would probably forgive her basically anything. She reminded him of his Aunt Jean, as he suspected she did for his Aunt Sue.  
  
When it came time for Mercedes to sing, Dave was almost intoxicated with the scent and feel of having Kurt near again. At about the intermission, he had been forced to remove his letterman to cover up the ‘situation’ that being so near the object of his affection had caused.  
  
Kurt leaned over after Mercedes finished that last heart-stopping note. “Sebastian, Blaine, and I were planning on kidnapping Artie and Mercedes to take them out to celebrate. Want to come?”  
  
 _Fuck yes!_ Dave thought, then rethought that question. “Sure,” he said. “It’ll probably prolong the questions from Az.”  
  
“Great!” Kurt said, motioning to his cousin and friend for them to get up. They slipped out the side door and made their way to the stage door. Once there, Kurt waved Artie over and whispered something into his best friend’s ear. Artie nodded and wheeled away, leaving the four standing there. “Let’s get out of here before they notice me,” he whispered.  
  
Sebastian would have teased Kurt about his paranoia, but he had witnessed New Direction’s reaction to seeing Kurt again in the flesh…and it was terrifying.  
  
The four were standing outside by the doors when Artie and Mercedes made their way out. Kurt smiled at the two, smoothing his hair nervously. “Hey ‘Cedes, want to come with us to Denny’s for a celebratory dinner?”  
  
Mercedes was tempted to ask why Karofsky was there, but she saw the way he stuck to Kurt’s side and she suddenly realized that apparently Kurt and Dave were friends again. She smiled when she realized that Kurt was happy again. “Of course boo.” She laughed when Kurt squealed and jumped with happiness, latching onto her arm and starting towards the Navigator.  
  
Dave followed the two chattering teens while pushing Artie’s wheelchair. Kurt’s two male best friends had eyed each other cautiously while Kurt had talked to Mercedes, but when both of them had smiled at the girl’s acceptance, they realized that they both had Kurt’s best interests at heart.  
  
Sebastian and Blaine trailed the four…and as they walked towards the car, their hands slowly drifted towards each other and slowly intertwined…  
  
XxXxX  
  
The following Monday found Rachel Berry walking around the school in a nose brace. Dave’s eyebrow rose when he saw it and he immediately texted Artie to find out the reason behind it. He couldn’t help but laugh when he had heard about Hudson smacking the girl in the nose while ‘rehearsing’ their Nationals routine. The next he heard about the nose incident was a text from Mercedes that the ‘white girl was crazy.’ And that she wanted a nose job.  
  
Dave had decided to be nosy when he noticed Mr. Schuster and Miss Pillsbury moving some kind of large machine into the choir room before a glee meeting. When he heard the purpose of the week’s lesson _and_ what the end of the week performance would be, he knew that he had to be a part of it.  
  
So that Wednesday, Dave had approached Mr. Schuester about joining the club, only for that week’s lesson. He knew that Mr. Schue had been willing to let him into the club back during the championship week, so he hoped that the offer might still be on the table.  
  
As it turns out, Dave needn’t have worried, Mr. Schuester was almost overly eager to have Dave join in on the lesson. Unfortunately, the one thing that he wasn’t going to get out of doing before being able to join the club was apologize. Why the fuck he needed to apologize to them when Kurt had already forgiven him, he didn’t understand, but he decided to humor Mr. Schue.  
  
On the way towards the front doors, Dave happened to glance at the nice sight of Sam Evans’ ass as he walked past. In his opinion, it didn’t even compare to Kurt’s, but it was nice to look at in passing. He didn’t notice Santana Lopez as he walked past where she was defacing a prom court poster.  
  
An hour later, he was sitting at that same table he sat at before when coming with Sebastian. He couldn’t figure out a reason for Santana Lopez to invite him for coffee, but he decided to go for his typical bravado. “I knew you’d ask me out eventually. I’m kind of Duke Stud at McKinley.”  
  
Santana scoffed. “Oh give it up. I _know_.”  
  
“Know what?” Dave asked, smirking.  
  
“That you’re gay.”  
  
Dave felt that old panic well up, but then he remembered what he had planned on doing, so it really didn’t matter that someone knew. “What? Who told you that?” he wasn’t really worried, he just wanted to know if Kurt’s little hobbit friend had blabbed at that coffee thing the day before. Neither Kurt nor Sebastian had said anything about Hairgel blabbing, but it could have happened when they were away from the table.  
  
“No one had to tell me. First of all, I saw you checking out Sam’s ass the other day. You know, you really need to be more careful with your leering.”  
  
Dave thought he had been just subtle enough in his ‘leering’ at attractive guys so that when he _did_ come out, it wouldn’t be so much of a surprise. He leaned back in his chair and sipped his coffee. “You saw that? Didn’t notice you in the hallway. Though why you were watching me check out your boyfriend, I don’t know.”  
  
Santana grimaced as she remembered that technically, Sam was still her boyfriend. Then her eyes widened when she realized that Karofsky hadn’t denied that he was gay.  
  
“So, why the intervention?” Dave asked, looking at Santana intently.  
  
“We play for the same team,” she said quietly, surprising Dave. He knew that she would make out with Brittany to get free meals, but he didn’t know that Santana was _actually_ a lesbian. “I was going to blackmail you into running for Prom King with me. And to get Kurt back at McKinley.”  
  
Dave shook his head. “He won’t come back. He doesn’t want two transfers within the same year, especially since McKinley will look worse on a transcript than Dalton. I already asked him to come back.”  
  
Santana nodded. “I forgot you two were close when we were younger. So Baby Gay won’t come back. That puts a crimp in my plans.”  
  
Dave sighed. “I’ll run with you. I just won’t be your date…I have other plans in mind,” he said with a light blush on his face. Dave then spent another hour and a half being mocked by Santana for his apparent ‘love sickness’.  
  
XxXxX


	6. Chapter 6

The next day found Dave standing in front of the whole glee club, apologizing for slushing them and for bullying them. He told them straight out that he and Kurt had made up and his past with Kurt was just that: his and Kurt’s.  
  
Naturally, a few had tried to complain, but with a well placed reminder by Santana about the past actions of certain members of the club, Dave had been allowed to join the club, despite his protests about only wanting to join one song.  
  
That afternoon’s rehearsal was to teach Dave the choreography for the Born this Way dance. When he got home that day, he texted Kurt asking him to come to McKinley the next afternoon.  
  
XxXxX  
  
Kurt sat in the front row of the April Rhodes Auditorium, with Sebastian sitting next to him and Blaine on the other side of Sebastian. The Warblers sat behind the three. Unknowingly, the Titans had slipped into the room also and were sitting in the back, where the stage lights would blind the glee club to their presence.  
  
Kurt had been asked to join in on the song, but he hadn’t been able to join in because of _Aida_ practice. He was more than happy to attend the performance though. He ignored Sebastian’s snarking about the stink of public school as he worried about just what Dave was going to put on his shirt. He had gotten the low down on the lesson when Puck had called him to try and get Rachel to come to her senses. He was thankful that apparently they had succeeded; she wasn’t getting the nose job any longer.  
  
Mike stepped onto the stage and posed. The music started and Kurt gasped at Mike’s voice. Clearly Tina had been working on him. He had been good enough to fake being a _really_ bad singer at the beginning of the school year, but this was a marked improvement. Kurt giggled at Mike’s use of American Sign Language as he spelled out H-I-M, Mike having pointed to Kurt with a grin after he did. Kurt pointed back with a giant smile on his face, ignoring the nudge Sebastian gave him for it.  
  
Kurt gaped when Dave ran out onto the stage with the rest of the guys, wearing that obnoxious plaid vest that he had worn to the championship game. Kurt was distracted for a moment by that vest, he could have sworn he had bribed Uncle Paul to burn it. However, when the shirts/jackets were whipped off, Kurt could only gape blankly at the stage. There, blazoned across David Karofsky’s chest was the word GAY. “Oh Dave,” Kurt whispered, eyes pricking with tears.  
  
When the song ended and the group was gathered on the lit steps, Kurt jumped to his feet and rushed the stage. Dave broke away from the hugging group and stood there, kind of self-conscious. “Hey Fancy,” he said, staring at his shoes. Since he wasn’t looking, he was blindsided by the force of Kurt practically attacking him.  
  
“God Dave,” Kurt breathed, kissing Dave over his face with little butterfly kisses. The two were completely oblivious to the audience they had, both on the stage and in the seats.  
  
In the Warbler section, Jeff and Nick were cooing with giant grins on their faces as they watched their best friend _finally_ get a boyfriend. Wes and David grinned and accepted money from several members of the Warblers and pointed to a few of the New Directions guys and made the universal sign for ‘money’. That signaled to Blaine and Sebastian that apparently the two had managed to create a betting pool between two different schools. And Wes had frowned on him for starting a fight club, Blaine thought with a scoff. He looked at Sebastian and could tell that his boyfriend was happy for his cousin, but obviously being in a public school was bothering him more than he let on because he was looking around at the school like it personally offended him. Then again, from what Kurt had told him about the school, McKinley High _could_ have offended Sebastian simply for being the place where Kurt had been tortured on a daily basis.  
  
In the back of the auditorium, Azimio turned to the other football players and glared at them. “If any of you give him shit for this, you’ll deal with me,” he threatened, looking pointedly at Chris Strando, knowing that he was one of the more vocal homophobes. The blond just withered under the force of Azimio’s glare, looking away. Azimio looked at the stage once more before speaking. “He’s going to need our help. The puckheads don’t take supposed betrayal easily. Remember how much shit they gave him for joining the football team?” he asked. “It’s going to be worse when it gets out that Dave is gay.” He counted on team loyalty to try and muster up support from the rest of the team members. He didn’t have to worry about the Glee guys; they were kind of disgustingly loyal like that.  
  
XxXxX  
  
That weekend found Kurt and Dave incommunicado, having locked themselves within each other’s houses, reconnecting. Sebastian’s smirk grew every time one of his texts or calls went unanswered. Blaine just rolled his eyes and set to work ‘distracting’ Sebastian.  
  
XxXxX  
  
That Monday found Dave walking through the front doors of McKinley with a satisfied smirk on his face. Kurt and he hadn’t done more than kissed over the weekend, but the fact that he finally had a chance to touch Kurt whenever he wanted, made Dave smirk like he had participated in a four day orgy with Kurt and a dozen clones. Dave mentally snorted; he really should stop watching _Naruto_. He was in such a self-satisfied haze that he didn’t notice the whispers following him through the halls. He also didn’t notice the hockey jocks making their way for him and being intercepted by the football jocks. He would hear later how Chris Strando had stuffed Scott Cooper into a locker and left him there, with Jacob Ben Israel standing on the other side of the locker, asking questions through the metal and ignoring the threats coming from the trapped puckhead.  
  
Later that week, Coach Sylvester had revived the school newspaper as some sort of McKinley _National Enquirer_. Azimio had joined after being tricked into attending one of the meetings, having been sleeping in the room when the meeting started. He had asked Dave if he minded Azimio joining and Dave had given his blessing. Of course, had he known the rumors that would be flying around due to the paper, he might have had some reservations.  
  
First were the ones that Kurt had somehow turned Dave gay. Dave had quickly stared down Jacob Ben Israel until he had posted a retraction on his blog. Of course, the threat of showing Jewfro his collection of gay porn to prove just how gay he was and had been for years had helped getting Jacob to post the retraction.  
  
Next were the ones about Santana and her closet, but Dave knew who to blame for that and he honestly couldn’t blame Brittany for not realizing the way her phrasing on Fondue for Two would be taken. The rumors about Quinn and Sam were a little hurtful; especially considering Dave knew what was really going on, having been at Dalton when Kurt had found out about Sam’s situation. And as such, he didn’t get upset when the inevitable rumors about Sam and Kurt came through the stalking of Finn and Rachel.  
  
The two had been sitting outside the motel, trying to catch Quinn there with Sam. When the door to the room opened and revealed Kurt walking through the door, they were shocked. “I can’t believe Kurt would do that to Dave,” Finn said, his eyes wide. The door opened again and Dave walked through the doorway, wearing his letterman. Kurt and Dave spoke to Sam for a moment before leaving, their hands linked.  
  
Dave sat in the back row of seats in the choir room while he watched as the club argued about rumors brought up by the paper. He didn’t even know why he was there, except as a mouthpiece for Kurt, who would want to know everything that happened. He knew that Kurt wanted to be there to help referee, but rehearsals for _Aida_ were gearing up to insane levels, especially since the performances would start the week after Prom.  
  
It all came to a head following Rachel’s rendition of “Go Your Own Way”. Quinn had confronted Rachel about singing the song to Finn. Rachel had then retorted that Quinn was a “cheater who cheats in cheap motels with Sam”.  
  
“Nothing is going on between Sam and I!” Quinn snapped.  
  
“Enough guys,” Mr. Schue tried to interject.  
  
“You know, I blame Sam for all of this. Rachel too. I blame her,” Santana said from next to Dave in the back row.  
  
“What did I do?” Rachel squawked.  
  
“I’m sure you did something.”  
  
“See, I’m with Santana,” Lauren piped up. “Why doesn’t Sam have anything to say about this?”  
  
“Guilt,” Mike said.  
  
“Seriously dude. What you’re doing, it’s not cool. They both have boyfriends,” Puck said, standing by the band guys.  
  
Dave went to speak up in defense of Kurt but was interrupted by Sam snapping.  
  
“Shut up! Look, I’m not messing around with Quinn or Kurt or any one of those guys. They’re just helping me.”  
  
“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Mercedes asked, earning a glare from Dave. That comment was totally _not_ cool.  
  
“Now hold on,” Mr. Schuester insisted. “How were they helping you out?”  
  
Sam seemed to think about his response for a minute before speaking. “Kurt was bringing me some clothes and Quinn was helping me babysit my little brother and sister.”  
  
“Then why were you in that hotel?” Finn asked from where he was still sitting behind the drum set.  
  
“Because that’s where I live now! My dad lost his job a few months ago and then we lost our house. So now we live in that motel in one room.” He stood. “Are you happy? The truth’s finally out.” He then stormed out. Everyone that had accused Quinn and Kurt of cheating looked incredibly guilty.  
  
“Did everyone forget that I was with Kurt at the motel with Sam?” Dave asked quietly, reminding everyone that he was there. “If any of you had asked me, I could have told you that he wasn’t cheating. I hope you all remember that you were accusing your _friends_ of these hurtful things,” he said flatly before walking out.  
  
XxXxX  
  
That night Kurt ripped his friends a new one for how they had attacked Sam and Quinn in the meeting that day. He then took Dave’s hand and drove over to the motel so he could personally hug Sam. While Kurt and Sam talked, Dave took Stevie and Stacy outside so they could throw the football around, using the little boy’s Nerf ball. Dave could hear a clicking sound not too far away and he looked over to see Jewfro taking pictures. “Hold on kids,” he said quietly before rushing over to Jacob. “If you don’t want to take up permanent residence in that dumpster,” he said quietly, “then you will delete those pictures as soon as I let you go. Then you will come over and let that sweet little girl brush your hair and do your nails. And maybe if you’re good, I won’t let Kurt remove your balls for trying to create more stress in Sam’s life.” Jacob nodded fearfully. Dave might have cut back on the bullying, but he was still terrifying as fuck. Dave released Jacob and turned back to the kids. “Look Stacy, Sammy’s _friend_ Jacob has come over to let you brush his hair and do his nails. He likes _really_ bright colors,” he said cheerfully, smiling at the cheer the little girl let out. Jacob let out a terrified squeak.  
  
Apparently the next afternoon Rachel and Finn visited Sam at the motel to apologize for the rumor mongering they had done the day before. Kurt was sure that seeing the tiny room that the five Evans’ lived in brought his situation home. Kurt, however, was spending that afternoon at Paul Karofsky’s office in downtown Lima. He had a few things to go over with him as his lawyer, not as his boyfriend’s father.  
  
It was coincidence that Kurt had decided to make a trip out to McKinley the same day Sam brought his siblings to the club to get them out of the motel. Kurt walked into the choir room followed by Paul Karofsky. He was surprised to see Stacy and Stevie sitting with the others.  
  
“Kurty!” Stacy screeched, running to the teen and hugging him tightly. “Did Jacob like his nails? Davey said that he likes bright colors. I picked my neon pink for him. He didn’t say anything after I finished though.” She pouted.  
  
Kurt smirked as he remembered the bright pink color Stacy had painted his nails. “He sure did Sweetie,” he said, exchanging a grin with Sam, who had seen the end result after his talk with Kurt. He looked at Sam and motioned for him to come closer. “I have to talk to Sam for a minute Stacy. I’ll be right back,” he said after it looked like she wasn’t going to let him go.  
  
Sam, Kurt and Paul walked into Mr. Schuester’s office and closed the doors. “Sam, I have something I want to offer you. This is just temporary, until your parents get themselves back on their feet.” He held out a bundle of paper with the words “Rental Agreement” on the top. “I still own my old house. It’s fully paid for and has been for years. If your parents would be willing, I had Uncle Paul draw up the contract yesterday. This is not charity,” he said firmly, knowing how Sam felt about being seen as a charity case. “I was planning on having someone rent it anyway and I’d rather have a family that I know and trust in there than some strangers. I would be willing to cover the bills until your parents can get new jobs, all I would require would be for your family to keep up the house. There are two bedrooms upstairs and a fully outfitted bedroom in the basement with a bathroom.” When it looked like Sam wasn’t convinced, Kurt continued with a hit below the belt. “Sam, I just don’t feel comfortable with your siblings living in that fleabag motel.”  
  
Paul chuckled when Sam shook his head sadly and took the papers from Kurt. “I gotta talk to my parents,” he said softly. When Kurt stood, Sam stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Thank you Kurt,” he said his eyes wide and honest.  
  
Paul held out a business card to Sam. “Have your dad call me if they decide to take the offer.” He then clapped a loving hand on Kurt’s shoulder before leaving to return to his office.  
  
Sam invited Kurt to join in on the song that he wanted to do for his siblings and Kurt agreed.  
  
XxXxX  
  
Despite the fact that Dave had asked Kurt to prom practically the second they got together, he was apprehensive when the time came to actually buy the tickets, get the form for a student from another school to attend. He also grabbed a couple for Blaine and Sebastian because a couple of the glee kids without dates had agreed to help Kurt’s cousin and his boyfriend attend the McKinley prom since neither of them were juniors and thus couldn’t attend the Dalton junior prom.  
  
Nick and Jeff wanted to come also, but once Rachel had decided to go with Jesse St. James, that knocked the members without dates down by one and Nick didn’t want to break up the interesting pairing of Mercedes and Sam up. While trying to figure out how to get the other resident Warbler couple into the McKinley prom, Lauren and Puck had offered to be Nick’s date, but one of the band members offered instead. He originally wasn’t intending on attending the prom, but with New Directions taking over prom entertainment, he _had_ to attend.  
  
Nick paid for his and Jeff’s tickets, knowing that since the band was required to play, they didn’t need to buy a ticket.  
  
A couple days, Dave, Sebastian, and Blaine were sitting with Finn on the couch in the living room when Burt came home from the shop. They were discussing whether or not the New Directions would mind if the Dalton boys sang at the prom.  
  
“Good news boys, my buddy Enzo from the tux rental shop is giving you half off,” Burt said as he hung up his coat.  
  
“Sweet!” Finn cried.  
  
“Yeah. So what are you going to go with?” Burt wondered.  
  
Dave shrugged. “I dunno. Kurt hasn’t finalized our colors or whatever. He’s taking us shopping tomorrow.”  
  
“I’m going simple. Black, thin lapelled collar. Very discreet.” Blaine had confided in Kurt, Dave, and Sebastian at their double date that he had been attacked at a Sadie Hawkins dance at his old school. Sebastian already owned several suits so he would decide what he was wearing after Blaine picked up his.  
  
“You know what I wore to my prom? I wore a powder blue tux with a ruffled shirt and a big velour bow tie. I looked like Tony Orlando.”  
  
Blaine looked confused. “Was that a designer?”  
  
Burt chuckled and sat in his chair. “No.”  
  
Kurt’s voice came from outside the room. “No need for half off my outfit,” he said, sliding into the room, showing off the kilt he was wearing.  
  
“Because half of it is already off?” Burt joked, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Dave was slack-jawed, awe in his eyes.  
  
“My ensemble is an homage to the recent royal wedding and the late Alexander McQueen. I had to make it myself. There is simply nothing off the rack suitable for the young, fashionable man in Ohio.”  
  
Finn grinned. “Dude that rocks! It’s like gay Braveheart!”  
  
Kurt spun in place, the kilt twirling as he whispered “Thank you.”  
  
“I don’t like it,” Burt said.  
  
“Well of course you don’t like it, it’s not finished yet. I think it still needs a sash or some beads,” he said, stepping in front of his boyfriend. Dave hadn’t spoken yet, his eyes still fixed on Kurt as he watched him move.  
  
“Look, I’m not going to stop you wearing it. But I got to be honest. I think you’re just trying to stir the pot a bit. I think you’re trying to get some attention.”  
  
“Exactly. What’s the point of dressing up? I mean that’s why some guys wear the tails with the top hat and some girls wear the hoop skirts.” Kurt tried to defend his point. He appealed to the other male in the room with some interest in fashion. “I mean Blaine help me out here.”  
  
Blaine looked uncomfortable. “I think your dad has a point. I think what he’s trying to say is we just don’t want to give anyone a reason to cause any trouble.”  
  
Dave shifted in his seat at the betrayed look on Kurt’s face.  
  
“There’s a lot of bad people out there Kurt. And they’re a lot worse than Dave used to be, and he had a reason,” he said, smiling at the boy he considered a fourth son, alongside Kurt, Finn, and Sebastian. “And all they’re looking for is a match to light under the fire of their hate. Now of course I want,” he sighed, “I want you to be yourself,” he said passionately. “But I also-I want you to be practical.”  
  
Kurt looked over five of the six most important men in his life for a moment, noticing how uncomfortable Dave, Sebastian, and Finn looked. He could tell that they didn’t share his father and Blaine’s concerns. He sighed softly. “Ok, I have done everything right.” He walked up the little step out of the sunken living room and turned back to his friend. “Now Blaine, I understand that after what you’ve been through, you’re worried. But prom is about joy not about fear, ok? So I’m wearing this suit. I worked hard on it and I think it’s fantastic. Dave obviously approved. And if you don’t want to join me at prom, I completely understand,” he said flatly to Blaine before giving a Rachel Berry worthy storm out. Dave looked between the other guys before following his boyfriend from the room.  
  
XxXxX  
  
The Warblers that were attending the McKinley prom had made plans to stay in Lima for the weekend. Sebastian’s dad had paid for a two-room suite in the Lima Red Rooster Express. However, Burt had insisted that since Nick and Jeff actually _were_ the proper age for sophomores, and therefore underage, that no couples would share a hotel room. So Blaine and Jeff would share a room and Sebastian and Nick would share the other one. No one enlightened Burt that Sebastian, Nick and Jeff had already done the deed so splitting them up would be sort of useless.  
  
After the _Aida_ rehearsal on Friday afternoon, Kurt had hugged Wes and wished him luck at the Dalton senior prom which was also that weekend or he would have been at McKinley with the others. Kurt, Jeff and Nick had looked at each other mischievously right before leaving and literally right before they walked out of the school. Kurt and Jeff flanked Wes, planting kisses on his cheeks and Nick kissed him on the lips all at the same time before the three laughed hysterically as they ran out of the school, leaving a bemused Wes behind. Sebastian just waggled his eyebrows at Wes before an exasperated Blaine dragged his perpetually flirting boyfriend away by the belt. Wes sighed before leaning his shoulder against his best friend. “I’m going to miss them next year,” he said quietly, acknowledging the fact that he was a senior while the rest of his friends were the year below him and down. David just wrapped an arm around Wes and hugged him tightly as the others climbed into Kurt’s ridiculously large SUV for the drive to Lima.  
  
XxXxX  
  
The next day, the girls of glee as well as Jeff and Blaine were at Kurt’s house to get ready. Kurt had planned a spa day for the girls and a bit of sprucing for the boys. Kurt tried to convince Blaine to let him work on those eyebrows, but his hands had just been batted away. Jeff made it better by letting Kurt style his hair rather than him leaving it in his typical floppy style.  
  
Kurt and Dave would be going to prom amongst a big group, including those Dalton students and their ‘dates’. However, the only one that would be alone would be Nick since his ‘date’ had to be at the prom before it started to help with setting up the instruments as well as play during the songs.  
  
Burt and Paul had gone half and half on the price of a limo and Sebastian was going to pay for their dinner at the best restaurant in town. There would be an after prom party at the hotel suite, with the curfew of those not staying at the hotel extended until three am.  
  
They got to the prom a little late, but early enough so that Artie could take the stage with Puck and Sam. Artie wheeled in beside Blaine, who was nominally his date. Sebastian trailed after his boyfriend and Artie with Santana on his arm, the two of them in wonderfully ironic matching red. Brittany had claimed Jeff for herself the moment Kurt had mentioned that the two Warblers had wanted to attend the prom. Nick was walking next to Jeff, seeing as Jack, his ‘date’ was already inside. Kurt and Dave followed the rest, their hands linked as he steeled their nerves. The news of Dave’s sexuality was out, but hardly anyone had seen the two together at the school.  
  
The glee club was waiting for their group when they entered, all save Mercedes who was on stage singing an Aretha hit. Artie smiled at his friends before wheeling over to Sam and Puck so they could get ready for their song. As soon as they were out of sight of the chaperones near the door, Sebastian had Blaine plastered to his side. Brittany had already pulled Nick and Jeff into the crowd to dance.  
  
Azimio and his date were hovering nearby, not knowing if they were allowed to join the group. Kurt was the one to stop the indecision, waving the two over.  
  
During one of Rachel’s turns on the stage, Jesse had wandered over to Kurt and Dave and had somehow convinced them to dance with him to an old Spice Girls song. When Artie, Sam, and Puck were singing “Friday”, which Kurt would mock them later for; Jesse had grabbed Kurt and was dancing with him in a manner that should be obscene for a straight guy. Dave had just cocked an eyebrow and continued to twirl Rachel around.  
  
Rachel had then attempted to depress the entire prom with her rendition of “Jar of Hearts”. However, Dave was happy for an excuse to hold Kurt close as he danced next to Sebastian and Blaine. Jeff and Nick were dancing with Brittany and Santana, enjoying being able to dance closely without any unfortunate problems popping up. Jesse was standing off to the side, watching Rachel as she sang. His face fell slightly as he noticed the way Rachel was staring at Finn as she sang.   
  
Dave happened to notice Jesse’s face and he reached out and yanked the older guy close. “Stop obsessing,” he muttered. “They constantly break up and get back together. Eventually one of them will get tired of it. For now, dance with us,” he offered, causing Jesse to grin slightly at the two of them.  
  
Kurt and Dave watched worriedly as Finn and Jesse argued while Blaine sang on stage. When the two were ejected from the Prom, much to Quinn’s dismay, they couldn’t help but snort. Dave had noted once that drama and Glee went hand in hand, this was a perfect example.  
  
When the time came for the crowning of prom royalty, Kurt watched with anticipation from the crowd as his boyfriend stood on stage, running with his closest female friend. Kurt snorted mentally, _nearly getting blackmailed over your sexuality certainly helped forge a friendship,_ he thought. He couldn’t help the loud cheer when Dave was announced Prom King, he jumped up and down happily at the sight of Dave grinning so unashamedly. He blew a kiss at Dave before calming down enough to hear Figgins’ announcement for Queen.  
  
“And now, your 2011 McKinley High Prom Queen, with an overwhelming amount of write in votes is…” Mr. Figgins looked upset, “Kurt Hummel.”  
  
Even a week ago, Kurt would have run from the room crying. The anger on his boyfriend’s face and the tensing of his cousin by his side gave him the courage to stay in the room. Dave ran down from the stage to wrap an arm around him. Kurt could see Becky run from the room, likely to get Sue from her office.  
  
Kurt hugged Dave tightly before shrugging off Sebastian’s protective hand on his shoulder. “I’m fine guys. In fact, I’m excellent,” he said, a smirk on his face. He took Dave’s arm and walked up to the stage where the reigning prom queen placed the crown on his head. He then looked at the microphone and smirked. “I hope whoever voted for me is happy. You have now severely _fucked_ yourselves. When you bullied me while I was a student here, it was an inner-school discipline matter. Now that I’m a student at another school, I am allowed to press charges against you for a hate crime. So enjoy your night,” he said with venom in his voice, “because on Monday you will be receiving a notice from my lawyer. Each of you that wrote my name on the line will have your votes analyzed and your handwriting recognized. To ensure that you cannot steal them back, my aunt Sue Sylvester will take the ballots right now and keep them until they can be analyzed. I invite you to just _try_ and steal them from her,” he said with a smirk as the faces of several of the hockey team members paled. “Mr. Figgins.” Kurt turned to the principal, who actually looked a little proud at Kurt for his actions.  
  
“And now behold the tradition of our 2011 Prom King and Queen having their first dance,” Mr. Figgins intoned into the mic.  
  
Dave held out his arm for his boyfriend, proudly leading the boy down the steps to the open area on the dance floor. When the music began, he noticed the dramatic eye roll that Kurt gave.  
  
“”Dancing Queen”, really guys?” he muttered to himself as he settled into Dave’s arms, ready to enjoy the dance even if it wasn’t the way he had wanted it.  
  
Thankfully, Sebastian pulled Blaine out onto the floor by the first chorus, steering his shorter boyfriend into a graceful twirl. The rest of the glee club quickly filled in the gap as well in support of Dave and Kurt.  
  
As soon as Kurt had mentioned having the ballots analyzed, Sue grabbed the box from the classroom where they had been counted and took them back to her office. She clambered into the secret room above her office and locked the ballots in there, knowing that no one else knew about the room and that no students could get into the room. She was seething at the cruelty of the students towards Kurt, but she was happy that he had managed to basically tell them to fuck off and die.  
  
XxXxX


	7. Chapter 7

Monday found Kurt, Sebastian, and Dave home from their respective schools. Dave and Sebastian lay on Kurt’s bed on either side of the countertenor as they all cried. The call from Jean’s nursing home came in the morning and none of them were willing to go to school. They had tried to get a hold of Sue, but she wasn’t answering their calls. Burt had called Dalton and the school had understood and Kurt and Sebastian’s teachers were putting together their homework for the week. The two students would only be heading to Dalton for the start of performances for _Aida_ that Thursday.  
  
Tuesday found the three of them, accompanied by Finn, visiting Sue in her office. Kurt had a small flower arrangement in his hands while Finn brought a stuffed animal. Kurt knocked on the door. “Aunt Sue?”  
  
Finn spoke up next. “We brought you some flowers. We’re sorry for your loss.”  
  
Sue nodded towards one of her tables. “Put them over there with the rest. There were more arrangements but I had to throw some of them away. I’m allergic to pansies. And I don’t mean that as a swipe at any of you,” she said, knowing that three of the four were gay. She stood up and walked over to the window of her office. “So, why did you bother doing this? Buying me flowers and comforting me? After I’ve actively made your lives a living hell and enjoyed doing it,” she said, looking at Kurt, Dave and Finn.  
  
Kurt looked at Sue with confusion. “Aunt Sue, we loved Aunt Jean. That’s why we’re here.” He walked up to Sue and hugged her tightly, Sebastian and Dave following. Finn kind of hovered awkwardly outside the group hug.  
  
Sue broke out of the hug and stepped back. “So how do you think you can help me? Are you here to tell me how to deal with this?”  
  
“Not at all,” Kurt said, leaning against Dave who wrapped an arm around Kurt’s shoulders.  
  
“Because if I was being honest, Porcelain and his backup singers, I don’t know how to deal with this. I can’t go back into that nursing home and start sorting through Jean’s things and I won’t plan a funeral.”  
  
“Have you told your mother yet?” Sebastian asked.  
  
“As far as I’m concerned, she said her good-byes to us years ago,” Sue said. “If you boys would really like to help me, you might start by explaining why it was her time and not mine. She’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met and as you boys can attest, I’m probably the meanest. So how come I’m the one still standing here talking to you?” No one had an answer.  
  
XxXxX  
  
Later that day, Kurt and Finn had managed to convince the glee club to help plan the funeral for Jean. Artie had agreed right away because he _knew_ what the woman meant to Kurt. Mercedes was hesitant to help Sue, especially after how horrible the woman had been to her after she quit the Cheerios, but she also knew how much Jean meant to Kurt, so she had reluctantly agreed.  
  
Kurt, who had been happy with Jesse the week before, was now glaring a hole through the older man’s head as he tried to stop them from helping plan the funeral. “Shut it, St. James,” he snapped. Jesse looked surprised at the venom coming from the countertenor. “I spent my childhood at that nursing home and spending time with that woman. We’re planning that funeral,” he said, looking over the rest of the club. “I’ll do it myself if I have to.”  
  
Finn interrupted. “No,” he said. “Rachel, you said that I needed to be more of a leader of this club. So I’ve made the call. We’re doing this, for Jean and for Kurt,” he said firmly.  
  
XxXxX  
  
Kurt existed in a kind of daze for the next couple days. Planning the funeral was taking a lot out of him, as well as going through Jean’s things at the nursing home. He had spent so many years in that room that it was almost a second home. He didn’t like gathering up her things into piles, like her life could be boiled down to these three piles of things. He remembered watching _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_ nearly every afternoon he spent at the nursing home with Jean. It was probably because of her that Kurt loved the movie so much. When Sue had told them to throw everything away but Jean’s favorite stuffed animal, Kurt had just snapped. “Why did you agree to this then? If you hate us so much, why are you letting us plan the service?”  
  
Sue stopped on her way out the door. “I was afraid no one would come. Jean didn’t know a lot of people. I figured with the glee club there, at least she would have a full house.” She then walked out the door.  
  
Kurt tossed the pom-poms in his hand into the trash, sniffing loudly as he looked around the room.  
  
XxXxX  
  
Kurt wiped at his eyes as he looked at the decorations around his Aunt Jean’s casket. The priest nodded at him and Finn and they stood up and faced the aisle where Sue and Mr. Schue were walking in. Kurt’s eyes looked over the crowd; the workers from the home, other residents that Kurt recognized on sight, as well as their families were in attendance. Near the back was a group of suit clad boys, the Warblers had come to support Kurt. It had shocked Kurt to see them there, especially since the first performance of _Aida_ was that night. Kurt was going to have to speed to get back to Dalton with enough time to get ready for the show.  
  
“What do you think Coach Sylvester?” Finn asked.  
  
“ _Willy Wonka_ was Jean’s favorite movie,” Kurt said quietly.  
  
“The way you described Jean made her sound so special. So, we wanted her funeral to be special also,” Finn explained.  
  
“Something to catch and express the joy of her life, rather than the sadness of her death,” Kurt added.  
  
“It’s lovely,” Sue said.  
  
“Let’s sit,” Mr. Schuester said, guiding Sue to the front pew of the chapel.   
  
After everyone was sitting, the priest took the podium. “Welcome, to the most unusual funeral that I have ever attended. Which makes sense, because Jean was the most unusual person that I ever had the pleasure to spend every Sunday for the last thirty years with. I think that Jean’s sister Sue would like to say a few words.”  
  
Sue got up and walked to the podium, taking a moment to get herself situated and the eulogy out of her pocket before starting. “I miss my sister. Every night at ten or so she used to call me on the phone. And when I asked her why, she would tell me that her body would tell her,” she choked up, “she wanted to hear my voice.” Her emotion took her over and she couldn’t continue, so Mr. Schuester got up and joined her at the podium to continue the eulogy for her.  
  
“I miss my sister,” he said, with an arm around Sue’s shoulder as she stepped aside for him. “The smell of her shampoo. The way she could always convince me to read her another book. When you love someone like I loved her, they’re a part of you. It’s like you’re attached by this invisible tether and no matter how far away you are, you can always feel them. And now every time I reach for that tether I know there is no one on the other end and I feel like I’m falling into nothingness. Then I remember Jean. I remember a life led with no enemies, no resentments, no regrets and I’m inspired…to get out up of bed and go on. I miss my sister so much. It feels like a piece of me has been ripped off. Just one more time, I want to hold her. Ten more seconds, is that too much to ask? For ten more seconds to hold her?” Mr. Schuester’s voice cracked as he teared up. “But I can’t and I won’t. And the only thing keeping me from being swallowed whole by sadness,” he let out an involuntary laugh, “is that Jean would kill me if I did. So for now, I’m just going to miss her. I love you Jeany. Rest in peace.”  
  
The glee club, including Sebastian and Dave, got up and stood in front of the room as Sue and Mr. Schuester sat back down. “This was Jean’s favorite song,” Finn said as Mike and Sam pushed play on the VCR attached to a TV in the front of the room.  
  
There were no dry eyes in the house as the club sang “Pure Imagination.” Even the Warblers, who had never met the woman whose funeral they were attending, were emotional as they watched their favorite member barely manage to keep it together as he sang for his favorite aunt.  
  
“Thank you,” Sue whispered to them after the song ended.  
  
XxXxX  
  
Dave sat in awe in the Dalton theatre as the last few notes of _Aida_ rang out over the audience. Kurt sat on his awesome throne, his costume amazing as he waited for the curtain to close before moving. The audience jumped to their feet, giving a standing ovation as the curtain opened again to reveal the cast for their curtain call. Dave whooped loudly when Kurt, Thad, and David bowed together for their call, and then stepped aside for Wes and Flint. Dave had originally been kind of hesitant about an all-male production of a love story, but this had been amazing. Of course, he should have known it would be with Kurt involved, he thought wryly.  
  
Kurt determinedly looked through the glare of the stage lights for Dave and when he spotted his boyfriend, he grinned widely. It might have been a sad day for him, but he couldn’t help but think that his mom and Aunt Jean had done something to ensure that he had a wonderful opening night. He blew a kiss at his boyfriend and his eyes danced with adoration when Dave looked star struck by it. _I love that boy_ , he thought dazedly.  
  
XxXxX Epilogue XxXxX  
  
Kurt looked at himself in the mirror. He couldn’t believe that he was doing this. He adjusted his hair one last time before stepping back to check his outfit. The hot pink outfit stretched pleasantly across his body.  
  
He still had no idea how Dave had convinced him to recreate that Halloween picture. But he somehow had and since no costume store had the original costumes, especially in adult sizes, Kurt had been forced to make all six costumes.  
  
Kurt snorted as he remembered Azimio’s panicked cries as Kurt took his measurements, including his inseam. Az had yelled for Dave to “stop his boy from groping him”. Kurt had just rolled his eyes and finished the measurement while Dave laughed his ass off at his best friend.  
  
Sebastian knocked on the doorframe. He looked amazing in his red ranger costume. Blaine was not going to be able to keep his hands off of him. “You ready?”  
  
Kurt nodded and adjusted the skirt on his costume. He grabbed the helmet and made his way to his cousin. The two walked downstairs where Dave, Artie, Finn, and Rachel were waiting. Rachel and Finn were dressed as Elphaba and Fieryo.  
  
Jeff, and Nick by extension, was throwing a joint Warbler/New Directions Halloween party. Azimio was crashing because he was part of the theme of Kurt and Sebastian’s group. And the theme of Power Rangers was continued with the significant others as well. Mike, Blaine, and Sugar were dressing as the Ninjetti rangers from the first movie.  
  
Jeff and Nick were going as Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock with Mercedes as Uhura and Sam as Doctor McCoy and Rory had agreed to go as Mr. Scott, causing Sam to break down in laughter the first time he had attempted a Scottish accent.  
  
Quinn, Santana and Brittany were going as Dracula’s three brides with Thad as Dracula, mainly because he was now dating Quinn.  
  
Kurt didn’t know what Puck was dressing as yet but he assumed that it would be something _interesting_ considering he had teamed up with Flint and Trent for the party.  
  
When Kurt’s Navigator pulled into Jeff’s Westerville home’s driveway, they were surprised to see a set of Three Stooges standing by the door. As they got closer, the three started doing a routine, causing all Warblers and New Directions members to burst out laughing.  
  
When they entered the house, Jeff and Nick bounded over to the group and tackled them. “Picture time!” Jeff chirped, holding up his digital camera. The six dressed as the original Power Rangers grouped together. Each of them held their helmets under one arm, smiling at the camera. The others all laughed when Nick said, “Say “It’s Morphin’ Time!”  
  
Jeff inspected the picture before smiling. “Okay, couples now. Then you can mingle.”  
  
Sebastian hauled Blaine over by the back of his costume so they could get their picture taken. Once that was done, Blaine dragged Sebastian over to the family room which was doubling as the Karaoke room for the night.  
  
Tina and Mike were the next to have their picture taken; and Kurt and Dave were the last.  
  
When that was done, Jeff and Nick asked for everyone to pick a movie to put on in the living room for those that didn’t feel like karaoke. Dave, Kurt and Sebastian exchanged a look with a grin. “ _Lion King_!”  
  
FIN


End file.
